Happy Thanksgiving!

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and will call upon the name of the LORD (Psalm 116:17).

The psalmist’s heart is full of thanksgiving, and it’s based on his past experiences. Looking back over Psalm 116, we find:

• The Lord hears and listens to our prayers. (verses 1-2)
• God delivers the psalmist from the sorrows of death, the deepest hell, and trouble and sorrow. (verses 3-4)
• God is gracious. (5)
• God is righteous. (5)
• God is merciful. (5)
• God helps the “simple,” in this case, the psalmist. (6)
• God provides rest and deliverance. (7-8)

Is it any wonder that the psalmist offered thanksgiving to the Lord?

I looked up the word “sacrifice,” something we don’t usually associate with giving thanks. Here, it means an offering or a sacrifice. Remember the Old Testament altars and sacrifices? Their burning was a sweet odor to the Lord. They were offered up to God.

So it is with thanks. It is offered up, its “smoke” reaching the nostrils of God, bringing Him pleasure.

This Thanksgiving season, I can look back over the past year and remember many of the same blessings the psalmist had, but in my own life:

• God has heard and answered specific prayers.
• God has delivered loved ones from death.
• God has been gracious, righteous, and merciful.
• God has helped the simple, in this case, me.
• God has provided my soul with rest and deliverance—through and after some unique trials. 

I can add many more reasons to praise the Lord with thanksgiving, such as finishing my book, freedom from pain, daily provisions, family blessings, the beauty of nature . . . . I could spend all day listing them!

This Thanksgiving, I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving

to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!