Thanksgiving 2017: Best Bible Verses, Quotes to Help You Practice Gratitude

By Leah Marieann Klett
Thanksgiving
Remember - thankfulness, practiced everyday, opens the door to the presence of God and grants us the power to shift our hearts towards God in every circumstance.  Stock Photo

This Thursday, November 23, millions across America will celebrate Thanksgiving Day with food, family, and fellowship. For Christians, it's the perfect time to reflect on the many blessings God has given us throughout the year.

While Thanksgiving is a one-day event, the Bible talks about the importance of giving thanks in every season - "... stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening ... 1 Chron 23:30."

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, take a moment to reflect on these Bible verses and quotes that remind us to thank God for His many blessings, care, and beneficence.

Bible Verses

Here are ten verses - in no particular order - that can help you express your gratitude to God for His protection, grace and faithfulness.

1. Psalm 46:1-2: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the Earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea ..."

2. 1st Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

3. Colossians 3:15: "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful."

4. Hebrews 12:28-29: "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.".

5. Colossians 2:6-7: "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

6. Psalm 28:7: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him."

7. Phillipians 4:6: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

8. Psalm 31:19: "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."

9. 2nd Corinthians 4:15: "All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory."

10. Psalm 100:4: "Enter his gates with thanksgiving  and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Thanksgiving Quotes

"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country."

--C.S. Lewis

"The best helps to growth in grace are the ill usage, the affronts, and the losses which befall us. We should receive them with all thankfulness, as preferable to all others, were it only on this account, that our will has no part therein."

--John Wesley

"When the Christian praises and gives thanks to God, this not only pleases God, but it enriches the Christian's life with joy. It is a reciprocating transaction between God and man."

--Rick Warren

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'"

--William A. Ward

"A thankful heart is one of the primary identifying characteristics of a believer. It stands in stark contrast to pride, selfishness, and worry. And it helps fortify the believer's trust in the Lord and reliance of His provision, even in the toughest times. No matter how choppy the seas become, a believer's heart is buoyed by constant praise and gratefulness to the Lord."

--John MacArthur

"True thanksgiving means that we need to thank God for what He has done for us, and not to tell Him what we have done for Him."

--George R. Hendrick

"Our knowledge of God is perfected by gratitude: we are thankful and rejoice in the experience of the truth that He is love."

--Thomas Merton

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