Giving Thanks From a Cheerful Heart

Deuteronomy 26:1–11

God often uses the example of a farmer to show how He works with His people. He blesses them so they may have a reason to return and give thanks. Nothing we do in God’s house is “just for the sake of it.”

At the beginning of the year, during our covenant renewal service, we offered our lives to God for the year ahead. Today, we give thanks as we reflect on how far God has brought us. Just as a farmer plants and brings the first fruits to God, we also bring our thanksgiving.

A farmer chooses his tools based on the size of his land. In the same way, when the Lord gives you “land” at the start of the year, it is your responsibility to pick up the right tools and begin working. It is on you to understand the season. God gives the land, but He does not prepare it for you. You must till it, prepare it, and choose the seed that grows best in that place. If you plant tea, you will harvest tea. If you do not know the season, you will not know what to plant.

If from January you were unsure what spiritual garden you were cultivating—your gifts, your character, your walk with God—do not rush to give thanks without reflection. God does not delight in fools. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
Galatians 6:8 reminds us that those who sow to the flesh reap corruption. Isaiah 1:3 says even donkeys know their master, but Israel did not know their God.

When a farmer finishes planting, he does not simply go to bed. He cannot bring rain, but he cares for what he has planted, trusting God for growth. For months he labors, anticipating the harvest. When the harvest comes, he gathers it, stores it, and eventually brings it to the marketplace. The same God who was faithful during planting prepares a buyer at harvest. God had a covenant with the farmer from the beginning: “If you prepare the land, sow, and wait on Me, I will not embarrass you.”

What have you planted this year? Your heart has produced a harvest—good or bad. Some will bring nothing; some little; others much. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). If the heart has not been enriched by God, we cannot expect abundance in our hands. Even with a thousand dollars, without a transformed heart, it will never feel like enough.

Thanksgiving is not about money; it is about the heart. It is recognizing the grace that carried you, the God who never left your side.

My Heart

My heart must recognize God as the source of everything. When this happens, everything around me points back to Him. Those whom God has been gracious to cannot hide His goodness. A farmer may look worn from labor, but when he comes to give thanks, he comes with joy because he knows God has been faithful.

A cheerful giver is one who knows what it took to become who they are. They understand it has been God from the beginning. Others are never content—always checking the clock, always rushing to the next thing, unable to enjoy today’s grace because they think tomorrow will be better. But what we bring before God is only what He has given us, shared with His people.

Some in the sanctuary may not know our names; some only relate to God through the church. But the farmer gives thanks because he knows the same God who walked with him this year will be faithful in the year to come.

My Heart — How Prepared Was I?

Have you prepared a garden that yields thanksgiving? In Isaiah, God asks His people: “Tell Me what I did not do for My vineyard.”
Did you choose the right seed? Did you choose love, friendship, service?
Did you take care of what God entrusted to you?

What can you stand before God and say, “This is my harvest”? Are you offering God something old, something you should have released long ago—like a wedding gown stored away while others could be blessed by it?

A farmer gives thanks from what he harvested, and God prepares people to receive his produce. Our district fellowship is like a marketplace—did we share the goodness of God with one another, or did we take each other for granted?

Do You Have a Harvest?

2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us:
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

A cheerful giver knows God will supply all their needs according to His riches in glory. They do not give with fear or hesitation. They know God holds their tomorrow, their children, their eternity. They have surrendered completely; they do not need reminders or pressure. Their hands and hearts remain open, and God continues to pour more.