Wednesday November 20, 2024
Thanks Giving is Peace Getting
By Jenny Pfister, edited by Betsy Leigh
Thanksgiving is defined in the dictionary as “the giving of gratitude, especially towards God.” The word is first used in the Bible in Leviticus, chapter 7, in a description of “the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings.” (See WORD WISDOM for deeper study of gratitude)
This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the Lord: If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil. Besides the cakes, as his offering he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. ‘The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning. (Lev.7:11-15 NKJV)
The Bible commands believers to thank God.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. (Ps.100:4 NIV)
The structure of this statement is not a suggestion. It is a definite command. The Bible commands Christians to give thanksgiving to God because it
- Keeps us in a right relationship with God and allows us to maintain a good perspective on life.
- When our hearts are filled with thanksgiving, we keep the sins and temptations of greed, selfishness, and self-sufficiency away.
- As Christians thank God daily, they are reminded of everything that God has given to them. Everything is from God.
- Thanksgiving reminds Christians of what they have and the blessings they have received from the Lord.
The peace offering pictures how Christ satisfied the wrath of God against sin and made peace between God and every sinner who will trust in Jesus Christ. It also pictures the inner peace we have through Christ…the “peace of God, which passes all understanding” (Phil.4:7).
Our inner peace of mind is connected to our practice of thanksgiving. Paul teaches us to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be ye thankful.”
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Col.3:15 NKJV)
We cannot have this peace apart from a thankful heart. If we gripe and complain, if we always see our needs and ignore our blessings, then…we cannot have the peace of God. We will be troubled and continually distressed. To have peace, you must be thankful.
We are to be thankful for everything “unto God.” We cannot just choose our favorites and ignore the unpleasant items. We must learn to be thankful for all. This too is the path to that blessed inner peace from God.
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph.5:20 NKJV).
Since we are to give thanks for all things, that evidently includes the bad as well as the good. We cannot judge God’s purpose for the things in our lives. God works it out for good if we love Him (Rom.8:28). This can be really hard for us…we don’t always see things as God does and cannot understand how something so bad could turn out for our good…but it always does! 1 Thessalonians 5 says,
In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess.5:18 NASB)
The sacrifice of thanksgiving was to be offered with the sprinkling of the blood of the peace offering (v.14). This shows that all of our thanksgiving is based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins. My spirit of thanksgiving is possible because my sins have already been forgiven and because my soul’s eternal destiny has been secured by the blood. I can say with Paul,
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift (2 Cor.9:15 KJV).
Because of that gift (Jesus Christ) I can be thankful for everything else that comes my way. God’s gift of salvation makes it possible for me to endure and even be thankful for everything that God allows to come my way.
When we purpose to thank God for everything that He allows to come into our lives:
- We keep bitterness at bay. We cannot be both thankful and bitter at the same time.
- We do not thank Him for evil, but that He is sustaining us through it (Jas1:12).
- We do not thank Him for harm He did not cause, but we thank Him when He gives us the strength to endure it (2 Cor.12:9).
- We thank Him for His promise that “all things will work together for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28).
- We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel thankful for the circumstance.
- We can grieve and still be thankful.
- We can hurt and still be thankful.
- We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward God.
- That is what the Bible calls a “sacrifice of praise” (Heb.13:15)
We must be thankful while it is today. Yesterday is gone and we have no promise of tomorrow. And this is always where the peace comes in…when we give thanks, we get peace. I’ll take that trade any day!!
Amen!
