Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day twenty-six with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the goodness of God.

Day Twenty-Six:
Thankful For God’s Goodness

“How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.  In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.” 
Psalm 31:19-20 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for the storehouses of God from which He lavishes good gifts upon His children.  I grew up on a farm where not only did the livestock live through the winter by eating what we had stored up for them during harvest, we lived through the winter by eating the things which were stored up for us during harvest.  I am thankful for a God who has not only stored up His goodness for those who fear Him, He is generous in giving from what has been stored.  God teaches us that there are times when we ought to store up for future use, but most importantly we should be focused on storing up treasures in heaven.

I am thankful that God not only gives us instruction, but He sets the example for how to live according to those instructions.  I am thankful that God teaches me to store up and to share, just as He has stored up and shares.  When Jesus told the story of the rich farmer tearing down his barns to build bigger ones, it does not appear that the condemnation of this man was about the storing of the harvest as much as it was about the man’s attitude of selfishness.  I know when I go to God, I don’t want to survive on what I deserve or have earned — in fact, I have no hope of surviving in God’s presence without a generous sharing of His goodness.

I am thankful that in Jesus, God has given an example of great generosity even when possessions are few by the world’s standard.  I am thankful for many people who have been generous to me in their goodness and love.  They represent Jesus well when they give of themselves.  I am thankful that God’s goodness and love reside within me so that I can be generous with others.  I am thankful that the One who supplies the seed for every good thing within me is able to increase that seed for a bountiful harvest.

As you pray, ask God to fill you with an awareness of how His goodness has been poured into your life.  Pray that  your thankfulness for God’s goodness would lead you to share with others as freely as He shares with you.  Pray that your goodness would always be seen by others as a reflection of God’s goodness.

I pray that you and I would recognize the goodness of God as He showers it upon us.  I pray that we would learn to store up treasure in heaven as we share God’s goodness with others.  I pray that we would grow in our generosity as we consider the true source of every good and perfect gift that we have ever received.

In prayer,

Tom