I give you thanks,

O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honour of your name. As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.

Psalm 138 v 1-3

Do you find it easy to let people say thank you to you, to express their genuine appreciation for who you are and what you do? I find it hard sometimes, and squirm inwardly, wishing they would just get it over and leave me in peace – especially when I know that my heart has been less than rejoicing in my work, and I feel I don’t deserve any gratitude!

Sometimes, the means that is chosen – the form of the gift, or the actions used – make me uncomfortable. We all have our own preferences and tastes, our own emotional make-up, which affect how we react when presented with gifts which others have chosen. How many primary class teachers actually really love all the gifts and cards they receive from their doting children at the end of the year?! If you are not a demonstrative person, then an enthusiastic hug from someone will have entirely the opposite effect from that which they intend, and you shrink inwardly from their touch.

Over recent weeks, my husband and I have enjoyed celebrations in our church marking the 20th anniversary of his coming to be their minister, and it is truly humbling to have so many people being grateful to us! Would it have been loving of us to dictate in advance the ways in which we were willing to be thanked? Of course not! Our church family love us, and we are privileged to have shared deeply in many of their lives – during great pain and suffering as well as in joy. We are one in Christ Jesus, members of the same body, and ultimately all the glory and praise goes to him for what has been done in our lives. But people need to give voice to their appreciation of one another, indeed this is a ministry of encouragement that we can all practice; it is as though through God’s designing of our natures, we cannot rest until thanks has been given.

So there have been cakes and speeches, cheesy songs, cards, gifts, flowers, a special dinner (for which my poor husband had to get smartly dressed – not a treat as far as he was concerned), and a general feeling of being the focus of attention in a very unusual way. Perhaps we might have preferred not to have had all the fuss, but how loving would that be towards those who have allowed us to serve them and be loved by them?

In the same way that each of us receives love and appreciation in our own particular ways, so also we express them individually. Some will say little, but give privately and generously to a gift. Some will want to make a public statement, others to quietly talk, or give a hug. Does our God reject our thanks because it does not comply to some particular formula? Of course not! (I am beginning to sound a bit like Paul in his letters, my apologies!). Our expressions of love and thanksgiving to God all bring Him delight because they are our true natures, as He designed them to be, glorifying and delighting in Him and all He so generously gives us.

I am trying to learn to love others as God loves me, welcoming me and my thanksgiving – whatever form it takes. In this way, I can learn to model Christ in his acceptance of us – think how shocked everyone was when Jesus allowed the woman to weep over his feet, dry them with her hair, kiss and then anoint them! The teachers of the law would have recoiled in horror, but Jesus accepted her, loved and affirmed her. In my gracious and humble acceptance of the thanks and appreciation of others, may I increasingly demonstrate the staggeringly generous way that God loves and accepts us.

Brace yourself, there’s a hug on the way!!!

“Be joyful always;

pray continually;

give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5, 16-18

The author of these words, Paul, was not given to asking other believers to do things he had not done himself, so we must assume that he practiced joyful, prayerful thanksgiving – in all circumstances. This included experiences of shipwreck, stoning, imprisonment and beating, unfair trials, slander, and exhausting journeys. He does not say give thanks “for” all circumstances, although he might well have done, since elsewhere he writes of how “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8 v 28). It is a staggering thing to say to someone, especially those to whom he is writing in this letter, a tiny, new, and beleaguered church. We feel ourselves protesting, ” but how unreasonable can you be Paul?!”

And yet, and yet… perhaps the key is in the final few words, where Paul reminds us that we are “in Christ Jesus”. When I begin to consider who I am “in Christ”, I find a new perspective on the realities of life. No matter what is troubling my peace, or destroying my plans, I am absolutely secure in my place as a beloved daughter of the King of Kings. No matter what other people say about my status and achievements (or the lack of them), or about the ways in which I may have failed them, I am able to hold my head high because I matter enough to be died for.

So, if God is working in all things for my good, and it is His will that I practice giving thanks in all circumstances, then that must be the best way for me to approach all of life – the way in which God will transform me more and more into the likeness of my Saviour, His son. This business of giving thanks, is one of the key ways in which I can co-operate with this process of transformation.

There are many who do not claim to be believers who testify to the power of gratitude in their lives, although I struggle to know to whom they express their thanks. For me, as a believer, one of my greatest joys is knowing the One to whom I express my appreciation, and my pleasure in the gifts so freely given.

I have been greatly helped in understanding this by the writer Ann Voskamp, in her book ‘One thousand gifts, a dare to live fully right where you are‘,(Zondervan, 2010), which I thoroughly recommend. I can testify to the power of thanksgiving, to taking note of the ways in which every day I receive God’s love for me personally. It is often the beauty of the natural world that catches my breath, or a piece of music, what is it for you? Perhaps seeing a parent loving and laughing with a child, or the genuine bond between friends sharing time together.

Whatever it is, I hope that in the week ahead, you find yourself often giving thanks, for in so doing, you will be prayerfully expressing joy in God’s presence, and fulfilling God’s good purpose for you!