Grateful People of the Bible

Grateful People of God

Bill Brinkworth

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”Psa. 100:1-5

Many biblical leaders were grateful for all the Lord had done in their lives and for their country, as we should be. Some appreciative people in the Bible were:

The priests of the Old Testament continually showed their thankfulness for God’s goodness to them and to Israel:

“And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:” I Chronicles 16:4 Also: I Chronicles 23:30.

An unidentified psalmist in Psalm 100:4 was thankful:

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Ps. 100:4

Hezekiah was thankful.

“Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.” II Chron. 29:31 Also: II Chron. 33:16.

Daniel was thankful.

“I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.” Dan. 2:23

Jesus, God’s only son, was thankful.

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Mat. 11:25 Also: Luke:10:21.

Paul was thankful.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Rom. 1:8
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” I Thes. 2:13
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;” I Tim. 1:12 Also: Rom. 7:25, I Cor. 1:4, Php. 1:3.

A child of God has so much for which to be thankful. No matter who we are, or what we are experiencing, we need to remember His goodness to us and be grateful. We need to be appreciative every day, not just once a year.

Are you grateful for God’s goodness? You might find yourself in a valley right now or facing trials, but count your blessings. You could be lying in a cancer ward with only a short time to live, but most likely you are not. You could be jobless, and wondering where your next meal is coming from, but most likely you are not. You could have some disability that limits you from a “normal” lifestyle, but most likely you do not. Some may even have one of the above prognosis on your life, but it could always be worse. Be grateful, as many of the Bible’s heroes mentioned above were. Even going through hard trials, they expressed their gratefulness to God. Be thankful always for what you do have and God’s underserved kindness in your life.

“Be thankful you're still above ground.”