Psalm 92 verse 1 says, 'It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High'. Scripture is full of exhortations and encouragements to thank God, prayers and songs of thanksgiving, and cautionary tales about the danger of ungratefulness. Most of us know thanksgiving is something we should do, yet many of us struggle to practice it intentionally. We must ask, Why is it ‘good to give thanks to the Lord’?

Thanksgiving blesses God

Scripture tells us to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving (Psalm 100.4), to make our requests known to him with thanksgiving (Philippians 4.6), and to give thanks to him in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5.18). It is possible to see texts like this and wrongly perceive thanksgiving as another duty to perform or a ritual we do to appease God, but scripture is emphatic that while God delights in our thanksgiving, he does not need it. He doesn't call for it from a place of insecurity or a desire to be encouraged. Rather, thanking God is the natural response when we see God for who he is.

We are not called to baseless thanksgiving but are repeatedly told why to thank God. We thank him because he deserves it. ‘Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ is a repeated refrain in scripture (e.g. Psalms 107, 118, 136, 1 Chronicles 16). We thank God because ‘every good and perfect gift’ comes from him, every breath we take, every ray of sunshine, everything comes to us from his merciful hand. When we truly grasp this, thanking God should be our instinctive response. When we give thanks, we are saying true things about God. We are treating God as God.

Thanksgiving blesses us

But when Psalm 92 says it is good to thank God, it is not just saying ‘It’s the right thing to do’ or ‘It’s good for God’, but also that it is good for us. How so? There are many ways, but I’ll touch on three briefly – faith, hope and love.

There is much in life to distract and disappoint us, to provoke us to ignore or doubt God. Without intentional effort to fix our minds on God, we drift towards unbelief. But giving thanks reminds us of who God is, what he’s done and what he’s doing, and it builds faith in us. Thanksgiving also gives us hope. Difficult situations can drive us to despair, but recalling the good things God has done gives us perspective. Our challenges are big but our God is bigger, so we can have hope.

Finally, thanksgiving blesses us as it stirs our hearts to love God. Left to their own devices, our hearts focus on what we don’t have, growing cold and bitter to God. But when we ‘bless the Lord and remember his benefits’ (Psalm 103), we are reminded that God loves us and means to do us good, and this enables us to love him.

Thanksgiving blesses others

Christian thanksgiving differs from the secular idea of “practising gratitude” in that our thanks are directed to God. But another key distinction is that Christian thanksgiving has a strong communal aspect. Throughout scripture, thanksgiving is something others are invited into. Psalm 34 says, ‘Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!’

Why? Because thanksgiving not only blesses God and the person giving thanks but it blesses others too. It builds faith in those joining in, as they hear how God is still at work, answering prayers, saving and bringing deliverance. It stirs hope and warms their hearts with love for this God who constantly lavishes mercy on undeserving people.

So friend, I encourage you to take time today to write down some things for which you are thankful to God. Make a regular habit of doing this. Don’t stop there, but invite others into your thanksgiving. It’s as simple as asking, 'What are you thankful for?' or 'How have you seen God at work lately?' Let us thank the Lord, for he is good and giving thanks is good.