ALL PRAISE TO GOD
Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:
For his mercies aye endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
Let us blaze his name abroad,
For of gods he is the God:
He, with all-commanding might,
Filled the new-made world with light:
All things living he doth feed,
His full hand supplies their need:
He his chosen race did bless
In the wasteful wilderness:
Let us then with gladsome mind
Praise the Lord, for he is kind.
John Milton, quoted in
Gazing on Truth
MATTER OF THE HEART
The heart must be alive with gracious gratitude, or the leaf cannot long be green with living holiness.
C. H. Spurgeon in
Flowers from a Puritan's Garden
HIS HOUSE, OUR HOME
There are a hundred touches of kindness that come to us every day to tell us that we are not orphans or outcasts upon the earth. Every trace of order, every gleam of beauty, every provision of bounty in the natural world, is an evidence that it is God's house.
Henry van Dyke in
The Upward Path
IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS
Taking [a] "servant" attitude of thankfulness in all of life's circumstances will help you react as old Matthew Henry did when he was mugged. He wrote in his diary, "Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."
I wonder if I could be that thankful. Could you?
Billy Graham in
Unto the Hills
NO ROOM FOR CYNICISM
A thankful heart cannot be cynical.
A. W. Tozer in
Signposts
THANKS THAT'S PERSONAL
One Thanksgiving Day I was home alone in the evening. On my favorite radio program Bill Pearce, the host of "Night Sounds," asked us to think of all the things for which we were thankfulour country, our families, home, work, and all the rest. Then he challenged us: "Have you ever stopped to be thankful just for yourself?" As he candidly shared his own struggles with this, I realized I had never really thanked God for all the work he had done in my creation. I was overcome as I thought of how God had made plans for my life long before I was born.
Ingrid Trobisch in
The Confident Woman
THE TRANSFORMED LIFE
Thanksgiving 133; comes from above. It is the gift that we cannot fabricate for ourselves. It is to be received. It is freely offered and asks to be freely received. That is where the choice is! We can choose to let the stranger continue his journey and so remain a stranger. But we can also invite him into our inner lives, let him touch every part of our being and then transform our resentments into gratitude. We don't have to do this. In fact, most people don't. But as often as we make that choice, everything, even the most trivial things, become[s] new. Our little lives become greatpart of the mysterious work of God's salvation. Once that happens, nothing is accidental, casual, or futile any more. Even the most insignificant event speaks the language of faith, hope, and above all, love. That's the Eucharistic life, the life in which everything becomes a way of saying "Thank you" to him who joined us on the road.
Henri Nouwen in
With Burning Hearts
THANKS FOR OTHERS
Gratitude is the praise we offer
God: for teachers kind,
benefactors never to be forgotten,
for all who have advantaged me,
by writings, sermons, converse,
prayers, examples, for all these
and all others
which I know, which I know
not, open, hidden,
remembered, and forgotten.
Lancelot Andrewes in
Heirlooms
THANKLESS "VICTIMS"
The careless soul receives the Father's gifts as if it were a way things had of dropping into his hand 133; yet is he ever complaining, as if someone were accountable for the checks which meet him at every turn. For the good that comes to him, he gives no thankswho is there to thank? At the disappointments that befall him he grumblesthere must be someone to blame!
George MacDonald in
Unspoken Sermons
(Series Two)
Copyright © 1997 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- From the MagazineMy Dreams Had Come True. But the Panic Attacks Remained.How I discovered God’s peace and found relief from debilitating anxiety.
- Editor's PickKamala Harris Against HistoryThe candidate's "unburdened by what has been" and "coconut tree" lines push her party toward a troubling partisan divide over the past itself.