Thankful for a Blessed Victory

But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

—1 Cor. 15:57

By God's grace we will, not merely on Thanksgiving Day, thank him for that blessed salvation, which Christ earned for us. By all means we must do that on Thanksgiving Day. But our calling is to do so every day. Every day we must fight the sinfulness of our flesh, and the boasting of what we are and did. That victory for which we thank God is not a victory which we realized. We must thank God because he giveth us that victory. As we read in 1 Cor. 15:50, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." No, thanking God for giving us this victory is thankfully praising God for what he did in his grace. Take a strong hold of that truth: We thank God because he giveth us the victory through his Son, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Salvation is, from beginning to end, and as far as every detail of it is concerned, God's gift to us. Therefore we are here called to thank God, and not boast of what we did. We enjoy that victory; but if we do this correctly, we attribute every bit of that victory to our God, as the song quoted a moment ago presents that truth: "All that I am I owe to Thee."

Hold on tightly then to the truth which our God presents to us through Paul. Call every bit of your salvation the gift of God's grace; and thank him for the victory which he realized for his elect. 

If we do that sincerely, we reveal that we have been given victory by our God, through his Son. Praise God then from whom all blessings flow.

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This excerpt was taken from a meditation written by Rev. John Heys printed in the 1995 issue of the Standard Bearer. Read the full article here: http://ow.ly/OFwe30gL7SZ.