Today Americans, and people across the world, celebrate Thanksgiving. Though it's become synoymous with a huge turkey dinner, sweet potato mash topped with marshmallows, family reunions and – rather horrifyingly – with being followed up by Black Friday, it's believed to have been observed since 1621.
It was originally celebrated by the Pilgrim Fathers as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of a good harvest and for the previous year. It quickly became an annual custom and in 1941, then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill officially designating the fourth Sunday of November as the feast day.
Thankfulness is a scriptural principle. God's people have always expressed their thankfulness for his blessings. But the number of times we are told to "be thankful", in one form or another, shows how prone we are to forget what God has done for us.
Here are 10 Bible verses about thankfulness, to remind us to be grateful for the blessings of God today.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever."
Ephesians 5:20
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Colossians 3:16-17
"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Philippians 4:6
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Colossians 4:2
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
Pslam 95:2-3
"Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods."
Psalm 100:4
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
2 Corinthians 9:11
"You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
Psalm 9:1
"I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds."
