So What Have You Done For Me Lately?
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. Psalm 50:23a
Every time I turn around right now it seems I am running into a conversation on Thanksgiving, not the holiday but an attitude of the heart. Three times this week I have been reminded how important it is to give God all the glory for the abundance I live in. That would include what I own, what I eat, the fact that I can eat it, opportunities to worship and fellowship with other believers, the close relationships I enjoy with others, and the fact that they are blessed for the most part.
Several years ago I heard a speaker – whose name I cannot remember now – who challenged his listeners to be thankful to God in all things. He pointed out that if you ask most Christians what they are thankful to God for they will give you their salvation story – even if they have been Christians for thirty years. His challenge was for us to sit down and write out a “What God Has Done for Me Lately” thank you letter to the Almighty, most holy God of the universe.
It turns out that this is a great exercise. Think about the little blessings you and I have had been privileged with over the last couple of days. Even if there have been difficult circumstances the follower of Jesus Christ can usually see the hand of God. Perhaps in the way others have come to our aid or the way God has used a song or a verse of scripture to encourage us and remind us of His presence. He does remind us that He will not leave us nor forsake us in those difficult times.
Sometimes though, it seems it is more of a challenge to thank God when things are good. We get rolling along in our blissful days and forget that it is God who is keeping the path straight (Proverbs 3:6) and leading us beside those still waters! (Psalm 23:2) He is the One who has provided the daily bread and the peace from enemies. It is He who will guard our hearts and protect us from evil.
I fear that we get used to it and we forget where it all comes from. Then we fail to express our gratitude in a way that honors and glorifies the God who has been so gracious and generous. This should not be.
As I made my way through the 57 verses in the Bible that say “give thanks” I realized how many of these I often neglect to mention in my own prayers. In 1 Chronicles 16:34 we are told to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever. I usually remember God’s goodness and His steadfast love (though not in those exact words). But there are other things that are off my radar. In Psalm 9:1 David says that He will thank God by recounting His “wonderful deeds”. Do we stop to think about God’s wonderful deeds? I do not think that David was talking about creation. I think he was going to tell others of the wonderful things God had done for him, personally. When we think about that, it was not as if David had an easy life. In fact, in this Psalm he goes on to talk about this enemies departing from him. But, he was thankful to the Lord and willing to talk about it.
Other verses remind us to be grateful for how God provides strength and shields us (Psalm 28:7), His faithfulness to His people (Psalm 33:4; 57:10; 86:15; 100:5; 117:2, and many more), for His Word (Psalm 33:4), for salvation and deliverance from the depths of Sheol, His wondrous works (Psalm 105:5), for wisdom and might given to us by Him (Daniel 2:23), and for His grace given to us through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:4). These are only a few of many things that God has given us or done for us that we fail to be grateful for.
In the Psalms we even hear thankfulness for things that we rarely talk about, no less thank God for. These are things like His judgments (Psalm 105:5) and because the Lord doomed the wicked to destruction (Psalm 92:7). We are grateful in a general way for God’s protection of us but do not like to admit that to do that others may have to be judged and disciplined by the Lord. These are praiseworthy attributes of His character, too.
Over and over again in his letters Paul was thankful for other people. Sometimes it was for their material or physical help (Romans 16:3-4) and sometimes for the joy of seeing the work of the Lord in them. He was always grateful to God for spiritual growth in the believers he was leaving behind as he moved from city to city (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Paul was a grateful man in spite of many, many hardships (2 Corinthians 6).
You and I live in ease and comfort compared to Paul. In his difficult life he was constantly thankful for something – the people, the help, the grace of God, his joy, salvation of others, or for the prayers of the believers on his behalf. Paul was even thankful for prison terms that offered him the opportunity to reach the prison guards with the gospel. In the difficulties of his own life he was the one who instructed us this way: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6
When I really think about all I have to be thankful for – it really does come down to God’s goodness and His steadfast love. It is out of these that all the everyday blessings that we take for granted flow – but I think it is good to remind ourselves and thank God for specific acts of His goodness and steadfast love. This will glorify Him. (Psalm 50: 23.)
As I was challenged so I challenge you – will you sit down with the Lord and write out a list of “What God Has Done for Me Lately”?