He spoke the world into being, created everything that exists, placed the planets in space, set the seasons in motion and continues to sustain the totality of all that is, yet, Jesus left us with a beautiful example of giving thanks.
It’s amazing how the Bread of Life was thankful for His daily bread.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. Matthew 15:36
The one who is our Wisdom was thankful for the wisdom given to the simple.
“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.” Matthew 11:25
The one whose words move mountains and thunders through the heavens, speaks words of thanksgiving to the Heavenly Father for hearing and answering His prayer.
“Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.'” John 11:40-42
The one who established the Passover, became the Passover Lamb. Yet before He took His place on the cross as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, He gave thanks to the Heavenly Father
“As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is my body.'” Matthew 26:25
Jesus leaves us the perfect example of what it means to be thankful. Whether eating, seeking wisdom, living to glorify Christ or facing difficult days we must maintain a heart of thanksgiving.
As we approach the day we celebrate with thanksgiving for all He is and all He has done, we are painfully aware that this may be a difficult time for you. Life isn’t always easy.
Yet, Jesus has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He has called us to be thankful regardless of our circumstances. A friend of mine recently said, “Why do we thank God when things are good, but not when they are bad?” Should we only expect that which is good and easy?
Our thanks is to God because He is God and He is good – regardless of what our life may whisper in our ears. No wonder the Word of God tells us to give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God.
Have you thought about how Jesus left us a pattern of thanks giving? Do you struggle with being thankful in all things?
Stephanie, I love the way you showed us Jesus’ life of thankfulness to the Father. “The Bread of Life was thankful for His daily bread.” How much more should we be thankful!
Kathy ~ This has been a wonderful walk through the Scriptures for me. I had never really thought about how Jesus, the Creator of all that is, showed us how to be thankful. I loved studying this.
If Jesus thought it was so important to give thanks and acknowledge His Father’s provision, how much more should I practice gratitude. I was thinking of this today as I was reading Philippians 2, how Christ took on the form of a man, humbling Himself as a servant. His attitude of gratitude seems to be born out of that humility. Thank you for sharing such clear examples.
Julie ~ I was thinking about the humility of our Lord as I was studying. Amazing that He who spoke this world into existence found it important to also speak words of gratitude. He is our perfect example in all things, isn’t He!
When we read and hear (and know) that Jesus is the perfect example of living for God, it’s so awesome to see how He really is that ultimate example in ALL things, including being thankful! What a model to follow … and be thankful for!
I’m really loving this series on gratitude and digging deeper into this easily overlooked state of the heart.
Caroline ~ You are so right! Jesus is out best model to follow. I’m so glad you’re digging with us! God’s Word is so exciting and there’s always some sweet nugget of truth to treasure and live by as we dig deeper.