Tilling the Soil of Your Heart by Thanksgiving

Devotional Reading: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God’s word and filled with abundant joy. Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God. It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity.

With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful. Ephesians 5:20, Philippians 4:6 and our anchor text that says Let everyone give all their praise and thanks to the Lord! Here’s why—he’s better than anyone could ever imagine. Yes, he’s always loving and kind, and his faithful love never ends. Psalms 107:1 TPT

You see, it’s important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful. And in God’s command he reveals his heart. We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father.

Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.

I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think, “Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I’m so provided for and loved. I’m sorry for not thanking you more.”

But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself. Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.

Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause thankfulness to well up within you.

Prayer and Confession
Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.

Further Reading: Psalm 103:1-5, Hebrews 13:15