It’s rather frustrating – all I do for him and not one word of gratitude.
The hours of preparation I put into making his Word sound good in my sermons and articles. All the hard work I do to help his Church grow. All the time I spend with his people so that they can know him, love him, and trust in him.
A simple “thanks” would be nice every so often.
That’s not even mentioning how I give up my weekends for him, all the grief I put up with serving him, and all the hard-earned money that I have generously given to him over the years.
And he has never – not once – said, “Thank you.”
If I were you, I’d keep at least ten feet away from me next time you see me on the street.
You don’t want to get hit by lightning.
Because who would ever say such things to God? None of us – at least not out loud. But if we’re honest, sometimes we think them, maybe not with those words, but with the same attitude.
We feel like God owes us. We feel like we’re doing him a favor when we go to church, when we give our offerings, when we take the time to serve and help. “You’re welcome, God,” we whisper in our minds.
If you read the Bible from cover to cover, you’ll find one glaring omission. God never says, “Thank you.”
And it’s not that God is rude or unkind. It’s not that he doesn’t want our time, service, or offerings. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate them.
It’s that he simply doesn’t need anything from us. He is completely self-sufficient.
And that’s actually comforting. Because if God ever needed to thank us, it would mean we had something he lacked. But the God who gives us everything lacks nothing.
Thanksgiving is an act of humility. When we give thanks, we’re admitting that we didn’t earn what we have or deserve the good things we’ve received.
When we serve God – when we give to him – he truly deserves it. He has earned it. Everything we have already belongs to him.
As Jesus told his disciples, when we serve God – when we give, help, and sacrifice – we shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back. We shouldn’t expect God to say, “Thank you.” Rather, we should humbly say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10).
God has no reason to ever say, “Thank you.”
But we do. Every good thing in our lives – our families, our homes, our health, our very breath – is a gift of his mercy and grace. “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).
And the greatest of those gifts is his Son, Jesus, who gave up everything to give us forgiveness and eternal life. With every moment we live and every breath we take, we have 10,000 reasons to say, “Thank you” to our Savior God.
So this Thanksgiving, don’t wait for a “thank you” from God. Instead, let your life be one big “thank you” to him who graciously gives all good things.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving” and “364 Days of Devotion,” on Amazon.com.
