Are you thankful for the many blessings that come from God?  Since God owes us nothing, everything He gives us or does for us is a gift.  Having a lack of appreciation for the gracious giving of our Maker is a sure way of bringing upon ourselves His wrath (Romans 1:18-20).  The righteous are always thankful.

Psalm 140:13 (ESV)
¹³  Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.

First, who are the righteous?  They are not those who have earned a special place in the heart of God.  Earning God’s favor is something that we cannot do.  Only a perfect life, lived sinlessly, can merit gifts from God.  The problem is, it is already too late for we have all sinned (Romans 3:23).

Righteousness is achieved when one obeys the gospel of Christ; thus, having his sins removed by the precious blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5).  We maintain a state of righteousness by doing the will of God.  No one who refuses to do God’s will is righteous.

 1 John 3:7 (ESV)
⁷  Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Because we owe our righteousness to God (even the doing of righteousness would be impossible apart from His grace), we should be thankful.  God blesses every aspect of our lives—physical and spiritual.  It is amazing that He cares for us so much.  David expressed a delightful surprise at just how much God thinks about us. Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV)
³  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴  what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

How do we know that God is so mindful of us?  It is because of all the provisions that He makes for us.  He blesses us with the necessities of life (Matthew 6:33).  As Moses told the children of Israel, He has given us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).  We rely on God for the health and strength to work for a living, and we dare not say, like the Israelites of old, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.”

The greatest blessings of all are those we enjoy in Christ.  The redemption of our souls is first on the list, but what about the privilege of prayer, the power of possessing God’s precious precepts, and the ongoing fellowship that we share with fellow followers of Christ? The spiritual blessings in Christ are so wonderful that it is hard for us to adequately express our thankfulness, but we ought to do the best we can.  God deserves to be thanked.

Hebrews 13:15 (KJV)
¹⁵  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.