T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G.

November 14, 2024

By Donna Chisholm Schoening

I recently did an acrostic for “THANKSGIVING” and was quite surprised with my results. I wrote down the first thing that came to my mind, as I wanted the responses to be raw and real. I must admit the first one is not a popular one for us to give thanks for, and admittedly surprised me. Some were obvious to me, while others, I must admit until now I am unsure I have ever really thanked God for, even though all are Scriptural.  What I learned is I need to be sure I am thanking God on a consistent basis, daily, for the benefits He has bestowed upon me. 

T –Trials and tests shockingly came to me first for the “T”. None of us likes them. They are hard and create uneasy, uncomfortable, and often messy times for us. I quickly thought of a song the late Andrae Crouch wrote “Through It All”. The premise of this song is, if I never had a problem, I would never know that God could solve it. It is “through it all I’ve learned to trust in Jesus”. While trials are not fun, it is where we grow our faith and trust in God. James reminds us we are to “count it all joy” when we have trials. Remember testimonies require there to have been a test.

James 1:2-3  2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

H –Healing was a more “pleasant” thought than the first one. However, in order to experience healing there must have been a need. Jesus once healed ten lepers during His earthly ministry. Only one of the lepers returned to thank Jesus for what He had done for Him. Jesus asks the leper where the other nine were in Luke 17:17. Could it be that God is not only looking for faith when we are healed but also thankfulness?

Luke 17:17   So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

A –Answered prayers are a confidence that we have in God according to 1 John 5. We should be thankful when we pray because we are praying to the God of the universe that hears us when we pray. Jesus tells us that if we ask in His name, He will do it. The key to it is– must be in HIS Name, or in accordance with His will.

1 John 5:14   Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that  if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

I wonder how often I ask God for something and fail to give thanks. Think about how we feel when we do something for someone that they can’t do for themselves and they neglect to thank us. 

N –New Name given to us by Almighty God. When I married my husband I was very excited to take his name as my last name, even though it is longer. This name change identified me as being a part of him. According to Revelation 3, God will be giving those who are His children a new name. I wonder what my name will be. I am grateful that God will be giving me this new name. 

Revelation 3:12   He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

K –King Jesus is the omnipotent true King who will reign for all eternity. Kingship denotes authority. Jesus has ALL authority.  Jesus is the King of Israel and the King of the nations. If you are a believer, He is the King of your life.There is no higher authority. As king, He deserves and commands all of our praise, worship and thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:2-3   Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.

S –Salvation is a gift from God that affords us so many benefits. Often salvation is equated with “I get to go to heaven”, which is true. However, salvation gives us many other benefits; God is our Heavenly Father, Jesus is our Intercessor and Brother, the Holy Spirit leads, guides, comforts and convicts. We have peace, joy, contentment, and answers to our prayers. Salvation is not something we can work for because it is a gift from God but it comes at a VERY high price for God, which is why we need to be most thankful for it. 

Hebrews 5:9   And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

G –Grace is not something that is free but very costly to God and Jesus. Simply put “Grace is Redemption at Christ’s Expense”. We need to value grace and give thanks for it because without it we are unable to be saved according to Ephesians 2 and because it is so costly.

Ephesians 2:8   For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

I –Immanuel is the name that Isaiah prophesied would be given to the Son the virgin Mary would deliver. Immanuel means “God with us”. I can not imagine living my life without God being with me. I am thankful that His very name promises He will be with me. 

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

V –Victory in and through Jesus. The old hymn, “Victory in Jesus”, by E.M. Bartlett declares that we have victory in Jesus because of the work of Jesus. Bartlett suffered a paralyzing stroke. The stroke left him unable to speak or walk. It was believed that the stroke ended his teaching ministry. However, it was during this difficult time he wrote “Victory in Jesus”. In and of ourselves, we falter and fail. We often miss the mark. However, according to Paul in Corinthians, God gives us the victory through Jesus. Paul also reminds us that we can do all things through Christ, including being victorious. 

1 Corinthians 15:57   But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:13   I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 I –Inheritance as joint heirs with Jesus is something that is far greater than we can comprehend. Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly worth six-hundred million dollars at the time of her passing according to

https://www.ibtimes.com/queen-elizabeths-million-dollar-tiaras-may-passed-charles-camilla-3611273  While that is more money than most of us will see in a life time, it pales in comparison to the inheritance we have as children of Almighty God. Because Jesus died and rose again, we call Father God, Abba. Abba is an affectionate, intimate term for “Father”. Think of that you can call the God of the universe Father! We are able to enter boldly into the throne room of God, we can pray in Jesus name, we can say to this mountain be moved and it will move. Jesus is our Brother. Jesus lives to intercede for us. We are joint heirs with Jesus.

Ephesians 1:11-14   11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our   inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

N –Name above ALL names is the authority by which we pray. When we pray, we pray in Jesus' name. Have you ever stopped to think about how powerful His name really is? Paul tells us in Philippians that God Almighty of the Universe gave Jesus the name which is above EVERY name. Think of the most powerful person you have heard of on earth, their name is nothing compared to the power behind the authority in the name which you pray.

Philippians 2:9   Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

G –God is the reason we have any of the above for which to be thankful. When I speak of God, I am speaking of the Trinity, God in Three Persons. He is Three in One, One in Three. He cannot be separated but each has His own distinct personality, attribute and impact on our life. While the Bible does not use the word trinity, there are examples where the trinity can be seen. Creation and the baptism of Jesus are probably the most well known examples. I am grateful for all three because it is God’s love that sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. Jesus died for my sins and was resurrected to give me life everlasting. It is the Holy Spirit that draws us to salvation, without His wooing we cannot be saved. The Holy Spirit also convicts us of our sins which leads to repentance. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

John 3:16    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 16:8   And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

John 16:13   However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

My goal is to thank God for His blessings each day. I once heard someone say, “What if you didn’t have today what you neglected to thank God for yesterday”... What will you thank God for today?