Lessons from Jesus on Thanksgiving

"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said,

'Father, I thank You 

that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.'” ~John 11:41-42

Jesus is in the middle of raising a dead man from the dead.  He has just asked the stone to be removed.  And He pauses.  By now the stench has undoubtedly reached nearby noses, but yet He pauses.  Everyone is anxiously awaiting His next move, yet He does nothing.  He looks up and says, "Father, I thank You."  For what?  Jesus hadn't even done anything yet!  "I thank You that the stone is rolled away"?  "I thank You that this man whom I love has died"?  That's not what Jesus says though.  He opens His mouth and says, 

"Father, I thank You that you have heard Me."

But, Lazarus is still just as dead as he was a few moments before?  It seems to me that Jesus is thanking the Father for something that we haven't seen the visible fruits of yet...  He recognizes that the Father has heard Him even though nothing has been done yet.  But He says "Thank You."

Since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, there is a reason these two verses are included.  They were meant to give an example to us, that we might have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and walk in His steps.

What we Learn:

1. Thanksgiving should be a big part of our lives.  By pausing in the middle of what He was doing to give thanks, Jesus left us an example, that we might do the same.  Ephesians 5:20 says, "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Do we?  Is thanksgiving a big part of our life? Is it the main part of our life? Is it done always and in all circumstances?

2. What is the purpose of thanksgiving?  Jesus shares one of them here when He says, "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this that they may believe that You sent Me."  He acknowledged God's character through thanksgiving so that those around Him would have a reason to believe.  Since we are weak and imperfect beings (unlike Jesus), I would add that thanksgiving also helps us believe.  I have noticed many times in my own life where if I pause and utter a simple "Thank You" when the Lord has shown His mercy and grace to me, I lay in bed at the end of the day and wonder at how amazingly faithful God was that day.  It wasn't that He did anything different from the other days, but simply that I took the time to acknowledge my thanksgiving made an imprint in my heart and mind that later led me to believe that Jesus is indeed Who He says He is.  Thanksgiving reminds us of Who He is.

3. Thanksgiving is giving glory to God. Jesus said earlier in the chapter that Lazarus' "sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).  By pausing to give thanks, Jesus is saying that it is not merely He who will bring life out of death, but the Father Who is working through Him.  In the same way, by thanking the Lord out-loud for something that He really has done, we acknowledge that it is He Who has accomplished it in our lives.  We're giving the glory to Him (where it rightfully belongs).

4. We learn from Jesus' example that it is important to utter our thanksgivings out-loud as well as inside of our own hearts.  Why?
- So that others can hear and agree with us

- So that they can partake of the belief as well

- So that they may see Who Jesus is and give the glory to Him

5. The only purpose of this short prayer is to thank the Lord.  How often to we imitate this example and make our prayers simply about thanksgiving to the Lord.  We ask for so many things, but how often do we thank Him when He answers our prayers and showers His bountiful mercies upon us?

6. Like Jesus, let us just stop and say "Thank You."  Not a quick, hurried "thank You," as we rush on to the next activity, but like Jesus, let us pause, lift up our eyes and say, "Father, I thank You because..."

7.  Jesus paused and thanked His Father before He (the Son) took action.  So let us too thank Him in advance for what He will do.  That is trust.  That is placing our faith firmly upon the One Who is most worthy of it.  Jesus took the time to recognize that God was going to do something great.  So should we.  He believed; He had faith.

There are so many lesson about thanksgiving that we can learn from the life of Jesus.  But if we were to sum it all up, it would be in this statement: 

In everything give THANKS!

As 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Since God's will is that we might believe in Him and that we might be drawn closer into a relationship with Him, we can know for sure that thanksgiving is not an empty, purposeless activity.  It serves a great purpose, both to bring glory to God and to transform our hearts.  Let us make it our constant practice, both in public and private--just like Jesus did.