When my kids were little, I started a habit with them at bedtime. We called it “Three Thankful Things.” Every night when I tucked them in, I would ask them to tell me three things they were thankful for that day. Some nights it came easy to them, and other nights they spoke them aloud begrudgingly. Either way, our goal was to teach them (and me) the spiritual discipline of giving thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thess.5:18) I reinforced life lessons with music and often sang pertinent songs to them (because there is a song for everything in life!) It is a core memory for them, and we laugh together as they often recall that mom had a song for everything. My "thanksgiving" song I would sing to them was “The Thankfulness Song" from the Veggie Tales Madam Blueberry movie: "Because a thankful heart is a happy heart...." I still love that little jingle.
REPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF ALL LEARNING
Giving thanks is a mark of the followers of Jesus. As we read through the Bible, the command to give thanks is repeated over and over. The Psalms are also replete with the exhortation to praise and give thanks to God. Our women’s Bible study recently completed a study on the book of Colossians, and I was struck by the number of times Paul mentioned giving thanks as a mark of the believers.
“We always thank God…” 1:3
“joyfully giving thanks to the Father” 1:11-12
“overflowing with thankfulness” 2:7
“And be thankful.” 3:15
“…as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude…”3:16
“…do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God…”3:17
“…being watchful and thankful…”4:2
When God repeats something in Scripture, He wants to emphasize it to us. Repetition means it is important. What we repeat to our children, we want them to remember and put into action. “Brush your teeth. Pick up your toys. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Be careful.” Likewise, God repeats things that are most important for us to take to heart and obey.
GIVE THANKS ALWAYS?
The command to rejoice and give thanks is not just for the good times, but also for the bad times. Our circumstances do not determine our gratitude. Indeed, Paul, the author of Colossians and many other books in the New Testament, was frequently in horrific circumstances and endured severe hardships. Another author in the Old Testament was likewise learning to give thanks in the midst of turmoil. Habakkuk records one of my favorite “thanksgiving” passages in all of Scripture. To be fair, the verses do not contain the words “give thanks,” but the concept of rejoicing goes hand in hand with thanksgiving.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18
Habakkuk was a prophet to the nation of Judah, just prior to the Babylonian invasion that took Judah captive. This was ordained by God as judgment upon His unfaithful people. The book of Habakkuk consists of three short chapters that record the prophet’s prayers of complaint and questioning God as well as God’s responses to him. “Why do you tolerate wrong? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? The law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. How long, O LORD?” Habakkuk is deeply disturbed when he looks at his nation and is trying to reconcile God’s ways with what he sees happening. His circumstances were not good.
We can probably relate as Judah sounds much like our own nation today. In Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum , Habakkuk the commentator Ken Fentress writes:
“While the prophet knows that the Lord is sovereign, his daily experience appears to reflect something quite different. He is struggling to rightly interpret his daily realities.”
I don’t know your situation today. Maybe things are bad or maybe things are good. Or I would guess that for most of us, we are somewhere in between those two camps. We should not live in denial of the hard things, but our rejoicing in the Lord must not be dependent on our circumstances. If it is, we will be unstable and rocky. Rather our worship and rejoicing rests solidly on the One who holds those circumstances in his hands. As the old song goes: “This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” He has a good purpose. The world is not spinning out of control. He promises that he is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28) and that his purpose will stand, and he will do all that he pleases. (Isaiah 46:10) Until we see His full redemption and restoration of all things, we walk by faith not by sight (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38).
Every year at Thanksgiving, I am reminded by these verses in Habakkuk that despite my circumstances, plenty or want, good times or bad, I need to rejoice and give thanks in my God for I know that he is sovereign, and his purposes shall prevail. I remind myself that he is good, and he loves me so much that he sent his son to die for me. My ultimate joy and thanksgiving are in the God of my salvation, knowing that: “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith."(Hebrews 10:37-38)
CULTIVATE THE HABIT OF GIVING THANKS
Teaching my children to name three thankful things each day was a way to cultivate thankful hearts, to look around at our many blessings and name them, but more importantly to look up to the Blesser, the Giver of those things.
This Thanksgiving season, give it a try with your own kids and name three thankful things each day. You can do this in the car on the way to school, at the supper table, or at bedtime. And if you don’t have children, you can still do this yourself by writing them down in a journal each day. “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”