3. Thanksgiving

The third side of the square is thanksgiving.

If adoration looks at who God is, and confession looks at what we have done, thanksgiving looks at what God has done for us. It is the response of grace-awakened hearts that understand they have received something they did not deserve.

Psalm 100 is a short psalm entirely devoted to thanksgiving.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Psalm 100:1-4)

Notice. Thanksgiving is not something to do grudgingly or formally. It is something to enter with joy.

But thanksgiving in the Bible is not mere sentiment. It is not positive thinking. It is grounded in concrete reality. We give thanks for something. We give thanks because God has acted.

Peter writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

This is Christian thanksgiving. The response to the gospel. God has saved us. God has given us Christ. God has promised us resurrection and an eternal inheritance. What could be more worthy of gratitude?

Paul makes thanksgiving a spiritual discipline. He writes, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Notice the phrasing. Paul does not say "give thanks for all circumstances." Some circumstances are genuinely hard. He says "give thanks in all circumstances." This is a practice of faith. Even in difficulty, the Christian is invited to remember God's faithfulness, to recall what Christ has done, to trust that God is not unfaithful.

Thanksgiving is a weapon against despair.

But thanksgiving is also the posture of someone who understands grace.

If you believe you have earned what you have received, you do not give thanks. You are owed. But the one who understands that everything is a gift, that all goodness flows from God's mercy, lives in perpetual thanksgiving. This is what the Reformation recovered. We are saved not by our works but by grace. Everything we have is undeserved. Therefore, everything calls forth gratitude. Even the ability to breathe. The sunlight on a Tuesday morning. The taste of food. A friend's kindness. A child's laugh.

All gifts. From a generous God.

Thanksgiving is also the antidote to idolatry. When you give thanks to God for what you have, you are acknowledging that He is the source. You are not trusting money, status, accomplishments, or relationships to save you or define you. You are saying, "All good gifts come from God. I am dependent on Him. I trust Him."

This is why ingratitude is so dangerous. The person who does not give thanks is one step away from worshipping the gifts instead of the Giver. But the grateful heart finds rest in God.

It is the answer of the creature, "You have given and I have received."