"Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:11)

The themes of praise and thanksgiving are very prominent throughout Scripture. The word "praise" and its derivatives occur over 330 times, and "thanks," with its derivatives, over 150 times. When applied to our relation to God, "thanks" are given to Him for what He has done for us, and "praise" for who He is and what He has done for the whole creation. If frequency of occurrence were an indicator, we might conclude that thanksgiving is important and praise-giving is twice as important!

In any case, every Christian believer has a tremendous amount to be thankful for. As in our text, we have been "enriched in every thing to all bountifulness," and it is sad to hear so many complaints and laments coming from Christians who feel they deserve more and better than they have already received from God's good hand.

We are told that the Lord Jesus, instituting the Lord's supper, gave thanks, all the while knowing that the very elements He was blessing spoke of His body that would soon be broken and His blood that would soon be shed. No wonder, therefore, that the apostle Paul reminds us: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Whether in bountifulness of material blessing or in the invaluable school of suffering and discipline, we can please God by a thankful heart and life. A key evidence that a Christian is truly "filled with the Spirit" is that he or she is habitually "giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:18, 20). May God's Spirit "cause through us thanksgiving to God!" HMM