Thanksgiving week gives us a reason to stop and remember what believers are commanded to do every day: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). Psalm 107 isn’t merely a call to gratitude; it’s a command to testify — to speak openly and joyfully of what God has done.

The Call of the Redeemed

Verse 2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

Gratitude is not just an inward feeling — it’s an outward testimony. When the redeemed tell their stories, they glorify God and remind a watching world that He is still at work. The psalmist shows us a repeating pattern: a problem, a prayer, and praise. God’s people fall into distress, cry out to Him, and He delivers. Every rescue becomes a reason to speak His name.

This pattern mirrors the gospel. Our lives were spiritual deserts, our souls in chains, our strength gone — until Christ redeemed us. Thanksgiving is not optional for those who have been rescued; it’s our joyful duty.

Thanksgiving as the Cure for the Soul

Living with gratitude is far more than a yearly holiday ritual. Psalm 107 shows that thanksgiving heals the heart and reorients the soul in multiple ways:

1. Thankfulness Cures Entitlement

The entitled heart demands more; the thankful heart marvels at grace. Entitlement breeds misery because it expects life to always exceed its own standards. But the Christian who knows that every breath is mercy will find joy even in lack.

2. Thankfulness Cures Hopelessness

When others hear us testify — when they see how God delivered us from sin, addiction, despair, or fear — it stirs faith. Our gratitude becomes someone else’s hope. Paul’s words ring true: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” If God saved the chief, He can save anyone.

3. Thankfulness Cures Lovelessness

To remember God’s steadfast love is to fall in love with Him again. Cold worship melts when the heart rehearses His mercies. Gratitude revives affection; it turns routine religion into rejoicing.

4. Thankfulness Cures Bitterness and Unforgiveness

When we see God’s providence even in our pain, bitterness loses its grip. The believer knows that “God works all things together for good” (Romans 8:28). Gratitude doesn’t ignore hurt; it places that hurt in the hands of a faithful Father who never wastes suffering.

Gratitude That Speaks

True thanksgiving isn’t silent. It testifies. When Paul and Silas sang in prison, their worship echoed through the cell blocks — and a jailer came to faith. The power wasn’t in their argument but in their adoration.

Our witness doesn’t depend on eloquence or debate skills; it begins with a thankful heart that gives God public credit for what He’s done. Every answered prayer, every undeserved mercy, every day of grace — all of it is meant to make Him famous.

Living Psalm 107

Psalm 107 ends with a challenge: “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”

Wisdom begins where gratitude lives.

This Thanksgiving — and every day beyond it — let’s do what this psalm commands:

Remember where God found us.

Recount how He heard our cries.

Rejoice in His steadfast love.

Retell His works to others.

For the redeemed of the Lord, thanksgiving is not a holiday — it’s a lifestyle, a testimony, and an act of worship that keeps the heart alive.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever.”

— Psalm 107:1

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