Giving Thanks

It's been a few thousand years since the days of the Old Testament. There is a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles chapter 16. No matter what the century, the beautiful songs of praise to the Lord Omnipotent never change! From the first of God's chosen to the last one on earth, His children will offer their praises to the One who is worthy! And the wonderful thing is that praises to Jehovah God will live on for all eternity. Have you ever felt so much love for your King that you couldn't help but sing a song of thanksgiving to Him? How about when you are in tremendous pain, no matter what the kind? As sweet as our praise is to our Father when we are spilling over with joy, think of how precious the song is when our hearts or bodies are screaming with pain. Beloved, do you let your song of praise ring out over the pain of trials and tribulations, or a body in constant agony? It's so easy to praise God when He showers us with blessings or when He gloriously answers prayer. But you know, when things are going tremendously well for me, that is when I tend to forget God. Hey, things are great and it's easy to just roll along and get too busy enjoying my blessings to remember to thank the One who bestowed them upon me. It isn't long though, due to the Holy Spirit's prompting, that I am back on my face singing songs of adoration to my King. In verse 8 of chapter 16 it says to make known His deeds among the peoples. I forget to do that sometimes. It grieves me to admit that but it's true. It's usually the little things that I forget Him in. I'm usually pretty good at remembering the big things. The other day someone asked me how I have the energy to work extra hours at my job since they are physical labor hours. I said "I do what I gotta do". Wow, really? I am asked all the time how I manage to stay awake at night when it's the body's natural function to be asleep during those hours. "Oh, I manage. Besides, I've been doing it for half of my life." Somehow I just manage, huh? I'm asked why I am always smiling. How many times has my normal reaction been, "Because of Jesus!"? The sad truth is most times, but not every time. Sometimes I just come back with a quip that doesn't point to God and His goodness, mercy and grace in my life. I could give you so many more examples. But my point is this, often times I don't even think to give God the glory until I have walked away and the opportunity has passed me by. Oh how that must grieve the heart of my Father who is so gracious and generous with His blessings to me! It is my fervent prayer that I NEVER miss an opportunity to shout out the praises of my King. Another line in verse 12, almost the same as verse 8 is "Remember the wonderful deeds which He has done". It talks about God's deeds three times in this psalm that appears in 1 Chronicles. This is critical for every child of His to remember. You want to know when my favorite time is for recalling His wonderful deeds in my life? When I am grieving so much that I can't see through my tears of pain. Or when I feel as if He has turned His face away from me for whatever reason. Maybe it is because of my sin. Or maybe it is Him testing and strengthening my faith. The times when I feel as if I am all alone in the world and that my enemies are as numerous as the stars. Maybe I've been waiting on an answer to prayer, and the wait has turned from months to years. The doubt sets in and the self pity tries to raise its ugly head. These are the times when Satan tempts me to question the goodness of God or to question His timing, which are both sin. The temptation itself isn't sin but if I yield to it, that is when it becomes sin. Maybe there have been things said about me that are untrue and I long for the truth to come out but it doesn't come. Maybe I am weary from two different kinds of chronic pain and I feel as if I am being spiritually whittled away to nothing because I am trying to deal with the pain in my own strength instead of depending on the strength of my Strong Tower. He is ready and willing to give me the grace to deal with the pain if only I will seek His face and ask Him. Any number of things that can cause grief and confusion is the perfect reason to get on my face and start recounting all of His tremendous blessings upon my life. I just start thanking Him for every single thing I can think of. Yes there are the really big things like mine and my son's salvation. And of course the blessing of getting to work in kindergarten Sunday school together. There is my job, my dependable vehicle, my perfect little apartment overlooking the Mississippi River. On and on I could go with the big stuff. But there's also a place to worship and thank Him for the little things that make up so much of my life. How about the hug and kiss of a child? How about hearing the voice of a little girl in my class telling me that she loves me? How about the grace He gives me to speak and be kind to someone who won't even give me the time of day in the elevator at my apartment building? How about 2 weeks ago when He gave me the money to buy a hamburger and french fries at my favorite restaurant. And the fact that He gave me a perfectly beautiful day and not too much pain in my body to walk to that restaurant! How about the money He provided me this week through overtime to buy a bag of groceries for our church's food giveaway to the needy? SO MANY THINGS!! And I'll tell ya, once I start thanking Him, mentioning each blessing one by one, the tears of pain soon turn to tears of JOY!! Joy unspeakable! And before I know it, songs of praise and adoration start spilling from my lips. How can we ever doubt the goodness of God with all the blessings He bestows on us?
Beloved, if Jehovah God has saved you, you have all the reason in the world to praise His holy Name! What if God decides to never do another thing for me in the way of His blessings the rest of my time here on this earth? What if He never answers another one of my prayers and never makes His face to shine upon me the rest of my days? What if my life is nothing but pain and hardship? Is He still not the most gracious God, more gracious and merciful than I could ever ask, imagine or deserve? We deserve hell, every single one of us. If He is gracious and merciful to save us, isn't that reason enough to praise Him night and day for the rest of our lives? We live and act and think as if God owes us something more. He doesn't owe us His mercy, His grace, His kindness! It's all undeserved favor! It's because of our selfish pride that we can feel as if God is not being good to us because He is allowing hard things in our lives. But have you ever thought about the fact that maybe the hard things ARE His blessings? If you have the right heart about them, and the right response to them, then you will be blessed! And you will be blessed for all time and eternity. If you use your pain and struggles as a witness to others who may go through the same, and you give all the glory to God, then you will be blessed on this earth and rewarded in heaven. Some of those blessings may come in the form of answers to prayer. Maybe He will bless you with the grace of tremendous wisdom and discernment that keeps you from falling into certain sins. It could be a blessing of more ability to praise Him through every single trial and hardship you face. It is His grace that gets us through. Many of the most wonderful blessings God gives are spiritual. When you respond correctly and in a way that honors God to the light He gives you, then He will give you more light. It's all in His sovereign hands. He knows what He's doing with you. Trust Him. Praise Him even when you think nothing is going right and you can't seem to find your way through the temporary darkness. Just trust Him and He will make your paths straight.