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Written by Deanna Brooks, Volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas

 Thanksgiving…gratitude…appreciation. Most of us were probably taught the importance of thanking someone when they did something for us. 

In the United States, we have a day in November that we call Thanksgiving. Families and friends often gather to share a meal. They may watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and often a football game. But I wonder how much time is spent in actually being thankful… not just for our physical blessings, but for a God who loves us deeply. 

In Ephesians 5:20, the apostle Paul encourages us with these words: “…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). 

“Giving thanks always” …do we do that? 

David, a man after God’s own heart, penned many psalms of thanksgiving. What makes David’s words so special to me is that he had a lot of struggles: he had to run and hide from King Saul for about 10 years… his sin with Bathsheba… constant battles against Israel’s enemies… and discord within his own house among his children. 

Still, he had a heart of thankfulness.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 is a song of David when the ark was returned to Jerusalem after being taken by the Philistines. In verses 8 and 9, we see David bursting out in thankfulness and praise: “Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!” 

Throughout the book of Psalms, there are many expressions of thanksgiving written by David. 

Psalm 100 is the one many people think of first: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations!” (Verses 4, 5).

In Psalm 111, David begins by saying he will give thanks to the Lord with his whole heart. 

Psalm 30 seems to have been written after a near-death experience…perhaps when David was fleeing from King Saul…and he closes verse 12 with these words: “O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

Psalm 9 was probably written after a victory over one of Israel’s enemies, and in verse 1, David says, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

In Psalm 28:7, David acknowledges the Lord as his strength and shield: 

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.”

Psalm 119 shows David’s heart for the Lord as he praises Him with thankfulness: 

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (verse 97).

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (verse 103).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (verse 105).

“Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart” (verse 111). 

These are just a few of the writings of David that show why he is called “a man after God’s own heart” (1Sa 13:14, Ac 13:22). 

The key to David’s being a man after God’s heart is found in Psalm 119:10: “…with my whole heart I seek you.” 

In reading through the Psalms, one thing that stands out to me is that David was continually meditating on God‘s goodness, what God had done, and how God was continuing to both pursue and protect David… not only from his enemies, but from his own sins. David’s response was one of thankfulness. 

God continues to pursue us with the same diligence today. In Psalm 23:6, we read, “Surely goodness, and mercy shall follow me.”  The Hebrew word for “follow” means an “intense pursuit” … like a lion chasing its prey. God wants to rescue us from the clutches of Satan. Is our response to His pursuit like that of David… a heart seeking Him and filled with thankfulness?

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Written by Isabela Lima, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Boa Vista - Roraima, Brazil

In 2017, I had to experience grief in a heavy way—heavier than I thought I could handle. We had participated in a spiritual retreat in February where the theme was “Be Strong and Courageous.” And I needed to be.

In May of that year, we received the devastating news that my brother-in-law had passed away suddenly and unfairly. That news tore at the heart of my husband and his family.

I saw him suffering. Everything around us was tears and pain.

Someone he loved dearly had passed away.

It was then that I began to see the great love God had, and still has, for us—His care despite everything. The church cared for us and held us like children who needed to cry in someone's arms.

The pain was immense. The whole city was moved by this horrible thing that had happened.

And seeing my loved ones in that situation, I prayed to God to transfer to me at least a little of what I saw them feeling. 

What I didn't know was that a few months later, I would suffer exactly the same thing. 

Now it was my brother who had passed away. And I felt completely immersed in a cloud of grief. Once again, the Lord's Church embraced us, and we were cared for with great love. The church cared for us, and we cared for our family. 

Grief is dark and incredibly painful. Church services became a place where we simply cried.

But, behind all the pain, a strange (for that moment) feeling of gratitude filled me—not because of what had happened, but because I could feel the powerful hand of someone caring for me in the midst of my affliction. Furthermore, I felt the inheritance of an earthly family, better known as the Church of the Lord, which was completely at my side. 

My awakening to serve God more happened after this experience. Through it, I realized that I was a Christian, but I hadn’t been dedicating to the Lord everything I could or should have. So, instead of clinging to the pain, I clung to the idea that I could serve God better, surrender my life to Him, and prepare myself so that, when I saw others going through the same thing, I could help them in some way. 

This process was also a form of healing from grief. Serving God, growing closer to Him, and becoming more involved in the work of the church strengthened me. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be in Boa Vista, serving others today. I understand that everything is subject to the Lord's permission and that there is a purpose in all things. What we need to do is decide from which angle we're going to look: whether it's just the problem itself or how God works through it. After all, in John 16:33, Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble, but to take heart!

I think about this often. It was a trial that made me more mature in clinging to God and trusting my Father, who always knows what's best for me. At no point did I want to take it out on the Lord or question why I was going through this. On the contrary, I wanted to go to His feet, cry when necessary, help those who needed me, and learn to be more present in the church, to work better, and to serve more. 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1Th 5:18 NIV)

“Give thanks.”: Grief changed me, but it didn’t mold me into its dark pattern of pain. It was through it that I grew even closer to my Heavenly Father.

“In all circumstances”: Even if I lose my family, God is with me, and His promise that one day I will be with Him, living in heaven, is what drives me to long for Him in this life.

After all, who will separate me from the love of God revealed in Christ our Lord?