In the same vein as Pastor Jeff’s last blog post (there’s an opening I never thought I would have to write), I wanted to look at an Old Testament reference to our attitude of thankfulness. Psalm 103 rides the crescendo of psalms that are directed towards God that ultimately praise Him. While the other Psalms are addressed to God, perhaps spoken to other people—the righteous, the sinners, Israel, the Gentile, the nations or other groups—Psalm 103 is different. It is different because David is speaking to himself. Why? Why is David “preaching” to himself? You only have to look at verse 2: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” The point is to remind himself of God’s blessings so he will continue to be grateful for all that God has done for him. We will only look at the first five verses, but I challenge you to read the rest as you will note that the psalm is characterized by attitude of thankfulness and the goodness of God.
Posts Tagged ‘thanksgiving’
Don’t Forget These Blessings
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009Thanksgiving: A Day or a Lifestyle?
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Given that ‘Thanksgiving Day’ is fast upon us I thought it would be useful if I shared some brief thoughts on the Scriptural teaching of giving thanks. In examining the Bible’s teaching on the subject, three important points immediately come to mind.
I must admit that the first thought I had when hearing the crunch of my rear bumper was not ‘Thank you God’.
First, the giving of thanks is a command, and not simply a suggestion. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the apostle Paul writes this; ‘in everything give thanks’. This particular exhortation takes the form of a command, a command with no qualifiers or exceptions. The command does not say ‘in everything give thanks, unless…’ Or, ‘in everything give thanks, but only if…’ No, the command simply says ‘in everything give thanks’. In other words, we are to give thanks in all circumstances. We are to give thanks in the good times and the bad. We are to give thanks when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. We are to give thanks in everything. This past week, I had someone hit my car as I was backing out of the parking lot at my son’s school. I must admit that the first thought I had when hearing the crunch of my rear bumper was not ‘Thank you God’. However, upon further examination, I realized that even in that situation, I should have expressed thanksgiving. I should have been thankful that I wasn’t hurt. I should have been thankful that I had car insurance. I should have been thankful that I owned a car in the first place. In other words, in spite of the ‘frustration’ and ‘inconvenience’ of having a car accident, there was much to be thankful for. Unfortunately, we don’t always see it that way. But, as Paul commands ‘in everything give thanks’.