| Since Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner, I’ve been meditating on verses that pertain to giving thanks to God. There are a couple of passages that have really caught my attention, and I would like to share them with you to fan the flame of thanksgiving in your life.
Psalms 118:19-21
Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.
Did you notice that the Psalmist considered thanksgiving to be the gates of righteousness through which the righteous enter into God’s presence? God opens the gates to His presence to those who are righteous in His sight. We know from Romans 1:16-17, that the righteous live by faith. They are declared righteous by God through their union with Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The proof of their righteousness before God is faith in Jesus. God opens the gates of righteousness when He reveals Jesus’ substitutionary death to a person. The Holy Spirit then pours out the love of God within their hearts (Rom. 5:1-5). When a person sees that the Lord has become his salvation, thanksgiving to God bursts forth from the heart like water and steam from Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
With the gates of righteousness opened to the believer through Jesus Christ’s righteousness, the immediate and reasonable response is to enter through His gates with thanksgiving to the Lord. It’s impossible to give thanks to the Lord for anything and not enter into His presence. The moment you acknowledge that the Lord has given you access to His presence and you begin to thank Him, that moment you become aware of His presence. If you aren’t aware of His presence, then you aren’t giving thanks to the Lord.
A thankless heart abides under God’s wrath.
Romans 1:21-23
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
This passage from Romans 1:21–23 describes a progression of darkness when one rejects God’s goodness and glory. We notice that it begins with a failure of gratitude. Paul said that “not giving thanks,” initiates moral and spiritual decline. We also gain insight into the role of gratitude in this passage.
1. Gratitude is recognition of God’s sovereignty.
To “give thanks,” in this context means more than polite acknowledgment—it represents recognizing God as the source of life, provision, and truth. Gratitude is an act of worship that affirms God’s rightful place as Creator and Sustainer. When people fail to thank God, they implicitly deny His authority and goodness.
2. Gratitude is a safeguard against spiritual blindness.
Thankfulness keeps the human heart oriented toward truth and humility before God. Humility is recognizing that everything we have comes from God. When gratitude is absent, pride and self-sufficiency take over, leading to what Paul called “foolishness,” and “darkened hearts.”
3. Ingratitude is the root of idolatry.
Paul linked the refusal to thank God with the beginning of idolatry. The sequence is clear:
- They knew God (awareness of His existence and power).
- They did not honor or give thanks to Him.
- Their thinking became futile and their hearts darkened.
- They exchanged God’s glory for images of created things.
In other words, ingratitude leads to distorted thinking, which leads to false worship. The failure to thank God opens the door to replacing Him with idols—objects of human imagination or creation.
4. Ingratitude is arrogant foolishness.
Verse 22 adds irony: “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” The rejection of gratitude is not portrayed as ignorance but as arrogance—an intellectual pride that refuses to acknowledge dependence on God. True wisdom, in contrast, begins with reverence and thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving functions as a spiritual barometer.
Gratitude to God is evidence of right relationship and clear perception of reality, while ingratitude marks the beginning of moral and intellectual corruption. Paul presented the absence of thankfulness not as a minor flaw but as the first step in humanity’s descent into idolatry and folly.
I want to be spiritually hot, living in the presence of God, don’t you? The more gratitude we express to God, the more time we spend consciously, intentionally in His presence, which has a great reward—fullness of joy (Psalms 16:11). “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” I hope you’ll be encouraged this Thanksgiving season to sit in the gates of righteousness by continually expressing gratitude to God for His goodness, grace, and mercy.
My gratitude to God for you.
My heart is full of gratitude to God for His grace and love shown to us who serve in The Spirit of Elijah Ministries International and to those who receive the benefit of our partnership together (below are pictures of some we ministered to in October). May God be glorified through our love, generosity, and gratitude, by loving with Jesus. The writer of Hebrews wrote in chapter 12:28-13:1. “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Let love of the brethren continue.” Gratitude isn’t only verbalized, it is to be shown by our acts of love for the brethren. Your giving is gratitude in action. Thank you, dear brothers and sisters, friends of Elijah Ministries, for expressing God’s love so faithfully and generously. May your Thanksgiving season be joyful and blessed. |