Practicing Thankfulness as a Couple - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - April 24
Practicing Thankfulness as a Couple
By Vivian Bricker
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).
Being thankful for God is often overlooked in society today. All of the blessings we have been given in Christ are being taken for granted. This is dangerous as it can cause us to neglect giving praise and thanks to Him. Rather than allowing this to happen, we need to start practicing thankfulness to God as an individual, but also as couples.
Marriage is a beautiful union established by God Himself (Genesis 2:24). Within this union, husbands and wives need to give thanks to God for all the blessings they have been given in life. The very truth of salvation is a reason to give thanks to God. Without salvation, we would all be doomed to a life of separation from God. Moreover, we need to give thanks to God for His very being. If there wasn’t a God, then we would all be left to face eternal darkness and the end of our existence when we pass away.
As it is, God is real, and He has revealed Himself in the Bible. Through the Bible, we learn about God, His goodness, His love, and how He sent His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16-17). Since we know this is true, we can rely on the truth that there is life after death and by placing faith in Jesus, we will get to experience eternal life with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in a perfect paradise. This is a beautiful blessing, which we must give thanks to God for.
Knowing that we have been forgiven of our sins and given eternal life in Christ are amazing things. We do not need to overlook these gifts from God. Each day, we need to give thanks to God for all of His blessings. Even if we might not think we have anything to be thankful for, we can be thankful for Him, salvation, and eternal life with Him.
We also need to give thanks to God for our spouse, and the chance to serve in Kingdom work alongside each other. It is a true gift to be married to our best friend and to get to do life with them. Sadly, many couples get so caught up in the stressors of the world that they often forget the great blessing they have in their spouse. Instead of taking our spouse for granted, we need to give God thanks for them.
Not everyone has a wonderful spouse and we need to give thanks to God for blessing us with an amazing partner. Once we do this, we will be more prone to give thanks to God as a couple. As mentioned, we can give thanks to God as individuals, but we also need to give thanks to God as a couple. We can do this by praying together, worshiping God together, and serving God together.
Each of these things will strengthen our relationship with God as well as with each other. We could even turn it into a daily occurrence where we go to God in prayer with our spouse and we give Him thanks. Additionally, we could also start going to church together with our spouse and praise God within the community of believers. Practicing thankfulness for God as a couple can also be realized by serving Him together.
Serving Him together can both be in the church as well as outside the church. Within the church, we can help in crib, worship service, or greeting guests. However, outside the church, we can also serve God by being a faithful spouse. Rather than taking a lot of time to get ready with elaborate hairstyles, fancy clothes, and make up, we can work on cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit for our spouse (1 Peter 3:3-5). By having a gentle and quiet spirit, we will be a faithful partner to our spouses.
Our Bible verse today says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). From this passage, we are taught the importance of giving thanks to the Lord. We should give Him thanks because He is good and His love endures forever. God is completely worthy of our thanks and praise. He has been so good to us and we need to give Him thanks for all of His goodness, blessings, and love.
As a couple, we need to reflect on Psalm 107:1 whenever we are struggling with thankfulness. By studying this passage together, it can help us to have an accountability partner when we start doubting God or feeling ungrateful for our life circumstances. Consistently giving thanks and having a heart of gratefulness will bring God great glory. Bad things will happen in our life, but God can use even the bad things for our good (Romans 8:28).
Practice thankfulness today and give thanks to God for all things. Whether they are major blessings or small blessings, give thanks to God. Encourage your spouse to give God praise and allow your spouse to encourage you to give Him praise as well. God has been good to us and it is important for us to give Him thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
“Dear God, my spouse and I come to You today with hearts of thankfulness. We give You thanks for all things. You have been with us through the hills and valleys. Thank You for all that You do and all of Your many blessings. Help us to always come to You with hearts of praise. In Your Son’s Name, I pray, Amen.”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/pcess609
Related Resource: Engaging with God in a Technology-Saturated World
Many of us feel hurried, and hurry is costing us more than we realize. The Unhurried Living Podcast with Alan and Gem Fadling provides resources and training to help Christian leaders learn to live and lead from fullness rather than on empty. After realizing the toll technology had taken on his connection with God, his community, and even himself, Carlos Whitaker took radical steps to disconnect in order to reconnect. He spent nearly two months living screen-free at a monastery, an Amish farm, and his own home, experiencing profound transformation along the way. If this episode helps you recenter your work and life on God, be sure to subscribe to Unhurried Living on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
