Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. There are many reasons why I love this holiday, and those reasons certainly include the wonderful food and fellowship with family and friends around the table together. While we rejoice in the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us, Scripture informs us that these blessings flow from the character and nature of God Himself.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. There are many reasons why I love this holiday, and those reasons certainly include the wonderful food and fellowship with family and friends around the table together. While we rejoice in the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us, Scripture informs us that these blessings flow from the character and nature of God Himself.

In my personal times of devotion with the Lord, I love to read through the chapters in the Book of Psalms before I study other passages of Scripture and devotional readings. Throughout this wonderful book, there are numerous reminders for us as followers of Christ to be thankful. In fact, Psalm 92 opens with the words, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” Psalm 100 instructs us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.”

Admittedly, sometimes in the midst of life’s circumstances it can be hard to express gratitude and thanksgiving at certain times. We even see this in the Psalms.

King David wrote many of the Psalms, and in his writings we see that he experienced and understood the highs and lows that life’s circumstances can bring. Throughout the Psalms, we find David offering great words of songs and praise in one instance, and we later see him expressing sorrow and grief over things like abandonment, loneliness and loss.

Yet in the midst of all of the different types of circumstances that David faced, his writings in the Psalms often conclude with encouraging reminders about God. Over and over again, David reminds us of God’s love, mercy, grace, righteousness, power, might, faithfulness and more. These and other attributes of God can help encourage and sustain us during life’s difficult times.

This Thanksgiving season may be one in which you are overflowing with gratitude. Or it may be one in which you are overwhelmed with pain and sorrow. No matter what we are facing in life, we can be encouraged and take comfort in what the Bible says about the character and nature of the God we serve.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” — Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)