Being Thankful to God is NOT Just on Thanksgiving!

While I do appreciate that pastors celebrate Thanksgiving Day when the Puritans met the Indians, when they had settled in the New Land which today is the United States of America, but it's a shame how some people can only be nice on Christmas, love on Valentine's and be thankful only on Thanksgiving. What we must realize is this... these holidays are memorials, not the only days to be nice. Thanksgiving should be a DAILY habit, not just being done with the celebration. With or without a turkey on the table, the habit of thanksgiving must go on.

In Psalm 34:1 we read David's statement, "I will bless the LORD at ALL TIMES. His praise will ALWAYS be on my lips." Looking at the Psalm and not just verse one, remember David was NOT in the best situation during that time. He was already chased by Saul who didn't want him to be king. Saul wanted to establish Jonathan as king but David was destined to be king. Saul's dynasty was doomed to die because of his unrepentant spirit. David was already running and hiding from being killed by Saul. Yet one thing I can admire is that he NEVER raised a hand against Saul.

Another problem that man faces is being thankful only in times of good, but not the bad. It's a habit of the flesh and even some Christians face that temptation. But remember Job? Job remained thankful in spite of all what God allowed. God allowed Job to be attacked by Satan for a purpose. David must have had Job in mind when he wrote Psalm 34:1 because he knew God had a purpose for trials. Likewise, God does not send difficulty to Christians without a good reason. God knows what's in the heart of His elect, but the elect may not easily know it. God asks questions not because He needs to know, He asks questions in order to show His elect what they do not know.

Psalm 34 also calls people to praise God in spite of hardships. It's very hard to say, "Oh magnify the LORD oh my soul." But by God's grace, David did what his flesh could not permit. Just think, sometimes God giving misfortunes can save us from bigger misfortunes. For example, not getting a lot of money may be the only way to protect a man from self-sufficiency. Not having what you want all the time helps you appreciate the gifts that are later given. Job understood and David understood the value of thankfulness DAILY and not just during a certain date.