Thank You, Lord!

It happened in a previous fellowship in which I was a part of the Leadership Team.  During a time of open ministry a young lady, who was a visitor, came to me for prayer.  As she looked up at me with a smile that seemed almost to split her face, I inquired as to any specific reason for prayer, and received the response, "The Lord has blessed me so really wonderfully, and I want to be able to really thank Him."  As I waited to discover the nature of such an obviously enormous blessing, she continued, "He has supplied me with a new pair of sandals.  Now, I just want more of Him!"

Although I knew that most, if not all, of those in the building at the time had wardrobes full of clothing and footwear, I didn't need to look any further than myself to realise how often we take so much for granted.  "A new pair of sandals" - and in Motherwell, in the middle of winter (it was January, as I recall)!  I felt strangely humbled, and honoured, to be permitted to pray with one whose heart was so full of thanksgiving.

There is much for which you and I, if we are genuine disciples of Jesus, can and should offer thanks to God - regardless of our financial, or material, circumstances.  There is the wonder of our salvation; the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit; the assurance of eternity in the Father's presence.  There is the family of the Church; the fellowship of the saints; the freedom to meet, together, with Him.  There is the written Word; the open door of prayer; the fruit, and gifting, of both the Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

It is the constant exhortation that we be thankful, and praise the Lord.  The Psalmists were full of such praise and thanksgiving.  So David sings out, "I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise You." (Ps.35:18), while the un-named writer of Psalm 105 encourages his listeners to "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done." (v.1).  Paul, too, says that we should be "... always giving thanks to God, the Father of everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph.5:20).

Let us, then, be filled with thanksgiving that will lead to praise which, as He is "... enthroned on the praises of His people." (Ps.22:3), will bring us ever more closely into His Presence, there to offer to Him the worship of our hearts and lives.

And a suggestion:  Let us cultivate an attitude of gratitude at all times!

An attitude of gratitude!

"Give thanks, with a grateful heart", we sometimes sing - and it's a beautiful song of praise and worship.  However, it can be quite a challenge to grow up with a truly thankful heart. From an early age we are exposed to a culture of gripers and grumblers, complainers and critics. We complain about the weather, the traffic, food, work, neighbours, bills, the government, church, and life in general. Worst of all, we are often ungrateful toward God. It would be hard to count the number of complaints and criticisms that are daily spoken before Him and against Him. How can we, who have received so much, be thankful for so little?

One of the great indicators of true spirituality is not how many times we go to the worship service, how big our Bibles are, or for how long we pray. It is measured by the level of gratitude that is in our hearts. When we are ungrateful, the heart of God is saddened, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and the joy of the Lord is quenched within us.

Being thankful sweetens you; grumbling sours you.  Being thankful brings sunshine to your countenance; being ungrateful casts a shadow.  Being thankful brings a melody to your words; criticism makes you sound like a clanging cymbal.  Being thankful keeps your feet on the pathway of celebration; complaining takes you down the road of despair. 

Paul writes: "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thess 5:16-18; emphasis added); while the Psalmist encourages us to "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!  Give thanks to Him, bless His Name!" (Ps 100:4; emphasis added).  Indeed, if you have access to a Biblical Concordance, it would be a worthwhile exercise to look up a number of the references to "Thanks" and "Thanksgiving".  If you haven't, then you could do worse than to go to http://www.biblegateway.com/

When our hearts are filled with gratitude we may feel that our thanksgiving is inadequate - but we may be certain that it is always appropriate. It will gladden the heart of God to hear your heartfelt thanks being freely offered to Him today.