The silver bullet in my marriage was learning to affirm and appreciate my wife. Appreciation and affirmation literally saved my home!

Initially, I would just say "Thank you," or "Thank you for everything," or "Thank you for all you do."

But my wife immediately and always responded, "For what?"

In my mind, saying "thank you for everything" was all inclusive enough to be meaningful. But for Liz, there was nothing like "all inclusive" or "general" thank you.

Yes on many days, the house was clean, the kids were happy, there was order in the home and the only thing that came to mind was "Thank you." But for good reason, a general thank you doesn't carry as much weight as "Thank you for taking good care of the kids and the home. Or "Thank you for braiding the girls' hair."

This may be the case with most spouses. If you are going to thank them, let them know exactly why you are doing so.

The truth is, for our appreciation to carry meaning, it has to be more specific than general.

Unsurprisingly, our heavenly Father also wants our appreciation to be more specific than general. There are days when we run out of words, and all we want to say is, "Thank you, God, for everything."

But a more powerful approach is putting words to our appreciation.

King David, in His older years, demonstrated this principle of Thanksgiving in Psalm 103. First, He admonishes his readers not to forget any of God's benefits. Then, he proceeds to list the benefits. Why? Because David understood that for Thanksgiving to be meaningful, it had to be specific.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits -

Who Forgives all your sins

Who Heals all your diseases,

Who Redeems your life from the pit

Who Crowns you with love and compassion,

Who Satisfies your desires with good things

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

(Psalm 103:1-5)

Praise God!

By the end of the chapter, David has listed an additional 14 specific attributes and doings of the Lord!

This morning, as you thank God, dig deeper into your spirit to identify the specific kindness of God you are thankful for. Don't settle for "Thank you, God, for everything." But remember or even better write down the specific things you attribute to God.

Like David, let us make our own list of God’s benefits.

If you thank God for your life, identity the specific areas of your life you are thankful for. With marriage, mention the very thing about your spouse that makes you grateful. The same applies to our children. Thank God for their health, their smiles, their beauty, the grace, and their confidence.

The more specific you are, the better.

God, like spouses, delight in Thanksgiving, but for our Thanksgiving to be meaningful, it has to be more specific than general.

God richly bless you!

Samuel Antwi-Boasiako, MD
21 Days of Thanksgiving! Day 5
The Grace Movement!