Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song….In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:1-5)
This builds upon Give Thanks in Good and Bad Times (Part 1)
Saying Grace
I was raised in a dear family, where we were “Christian” in name and sometimes church-going. But Jesus was not loved and trusted in our home and the Bible was not read or taught. We were taught to “say grace,” a short prayer of thanksgiving before eating. Now that I follow Christ, I’m learning to “say grace” during walks through our sunny neighborhood and on days when it’s raining and I can’t go out. I “say grace” before and after pastoral counseling meetings, during my reading of Christian and non-Christian literature, when I do everyday tasks, when I’m around people anywhere, realizing that these individuals are all God’s image bearers. Do we take things for granted? Or do we receive them from God with gratitude?
Scripture says: “Be thankful.” The Lord has commanded it for our good and for His glory. God’s command to be thankful is not the threatening demand of a tyrant. It is the invitation of a lifetime—the opportunity to draw near to God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) at any moment of the day. (Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth)
Enjoy Good Times (Prosperity)
Ecclesiastes 7:14 says: “When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.” Good times include having enough food, water, clothing, sleep, and shelter. It can also include health, employment, family, friendships, social connections, and higher level human needs. Good times are easy to understand, yet sometimes we still forget how the Lord Jesus has blessed most of us.
Reminders List #1
One writer said: If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than many people around the world. If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change, you’re wealthier than many. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than many who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation, you are more blessed than millions who are suffering now. If you can read this message, you are more blessed than many who cannot read it at all.1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever….Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 16:34, 29:13)
Reminders List #2
Another writer said: Say “Thank You” to God and live in constant appreciation and gratitude:
- For grace, mercy, understanding, wisdom, parents, love, kindness, humility, peace, and prosperity.
- For all the good things the Lord has already planned to send you.
- For all that you enjoy right now and for every moment that led you to this day.
- For the hard times that made you appreciate the better times.
- For the lessons that helped you develop.
- For the Lord’s empowering you to survive and profit from bad times.
- For all the people who went before you and made it better for you now.
- Thank God for your eyes that get to witness His “ordinary” miracles every day.
- For everything you take for granted.
- For your ability to love and show kindness to others without expecting anything in return.
- For all the people in your life, those you love and those you learn from.
- Thank God for the things that make you happy and contented. Or should.
- For food on the table, air in your lungs, life in your body, for opportunities.
- Be grateful for your limbs, eyesight, and hearing, if you have them. Many are not so blessed.
- For the health you do have. Many are in worse states of health.
- Thank the Lord for that one person (or many people) who has/have impacted your life for good.
- Be that same kind of person for someone else, to make a difference in their life, large or small.
- Thank God for His good universe. It contains unlimited things to be grateful for.
- Thank God for this day, whatever it brings.
- For the challenge you need to grow, a delay to teach you patience, an unexpected blessing, every moment of joy.
Lord, help me to understand that no circumstance is my life, no high (success, gain) or low (failure, loss), no event, nothing defines my life. You define my life and give me value, worthy, meaning, purpose, and eternal salvation in Christ!2
Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe….Through Jesus, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. (Hebrews 12:28, 13:15)
Better Than We Deserve!
Ruth bowed down with her face to the ground and exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me?” (Ruth 2:10)
Arthur S. DeMoss (1926-1979) made his fortune in the insurance business by mass marketing policies via television ads. Art’s daughter Nancy affectionately describes her dad this way: “He was a man who never got over the wonder of the fact that God saved him. My dad did always not have a heart for God. He was a rebel, a wild young man, very involved in gambling. In 1950, God opened his eyes and brought him to repentance and faith in Jesus. As we were growing up, he would tell us the story of where God had found him and what God had done for him. It would bring tears to his eyes. It just amazed him, even years later, that God would do this for him. When you asked my dad, ‘How are you doing?’ he would often say, ‘Better than I deserve.’”
This is the opposite of feeling entitled to all the ways God blesses us. Let’s be child-like and thank Christ for every way that He provides, pardons, and protects us. Psalm 69:30 says: “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.” Gratefulness honors the Lord and it’s healthy for our souls too. As we mature in Christ, we learn to thank Him for both the good and bad times in our lives. If you need help priming your “thanksgiving pump,” look at these Psalms and thank Christ:
- Because He is our nurturing Shepherd who knows just what we need (Psalm 23)
- Because He is our best Defender (Psalm 27)
- Because He is our trustworthy Provider with our highest good in mind (Psalm 37)
- Because He is our awesome Creator and full of goodness (Psalm 100)
- Because His love for us never changes, never falters, and never ends (Psalm 136)
- Because He purposefully created us as His intricate work of art and cares about us (Psalm 139)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich….Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift of Jesus! (2 Corinthians 8:9, 9:15)
To be continued.
Notes: 1 Adapted from reddit.com/r/quotes. 2 Adapted from iamfearlesssoul.com/say-thank-you.