In our hurry-scurry world, it’s easy to forget to take the time to thank God for even the little things. And especially for the not-so-good things such as wintry weather, aches and pains, or bad news. We can follow David’s example and give thanks—aloud—for all things.
Eternal Perspectives by Sally Bair
Thanks a lot
Are your plans in place for the big day? Perhaps like my family, you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with the entire family contributing toward a gigantic meal of turkey and its trimmings, and a time to share our thanks to God for His blessings. We always followed the meal with board games for the kids, kitchen cleanup and family gossip by the women, and TV football for the men.
Thanksgiving Day can mean many hours of preparation. Perhaps we all keep so busy preparing that we miss the day’s significance. Perhaps we tend to do the same with God. How often do we tell ourselves we’ll get to our Bible reading as soon as we finish one more important task? How often do we forget to thank Him each day for our sound mind and health, our family, and for the myriad of His little blessings?
Psalm 116 comes to mind about why we should thank God daily. King David, the psalm writer, wrote “I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice …” (verse 1) What better reason do we have to love the Lord than that He listens to our laments, our list of needs and our oft-neglected praise?
Countless times David found himself surrounded by threats of death and by sorrow. Yet his troubles never stopped him from thanking God for His help. “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful.” (verse 5)
God often plucked David from certain death by his enemies and dried his tears when loved ones rejected him. Yet he recognized that God’s salvation encompassed his soul as well. “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (verses 12-13)
The term thanksgiving means public acknowledgment. “I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people,” David wrote. (verse 14) He acknowledged his thanks with passion, sacrifice, and boldness. No matter what we face, we too can be bold and passionate in our thanks to God—every day, for His bountiful gifts. Our list of today’s blessings alone could fill many pages and each day to come we could add to the list. A friend, while on her daily walks, thanks God for fifty things. On sleepless nights I do the same. Perhaps we can all follow that habit. After all, He alone is worthy of our praise and thanks.
Lord, we offer our sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise this day and tomorrow and every tomorrow You bless us with. You alone are worthy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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