Psalm 92:1

Psalm 92:1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

I don’t know if it’s my own pride that needs feeding or if I’m simply seeking my own reward but I really like to hear the words “Thank You”. Upon further reflection it’s not that I want to hear gratitude for my own actions, I just want to hear the expression of gratitude in general. I miss the days when people didn’t feel like they deserved everything they received.

Gratitude is the thought behind today’s post. Not gratitude toward each other but gratitude towards God which our scripture for today tells us is “good”. Here’s an outline by George Rogers from Charles Spurgeon’s The Treasury of David on which I’d like to base today’s post:

1) It is a good thing to have cause for gratitude. Every one has this.
2) It is a good thing to have the principle of gratitude.
3) It is a good thing to give expression of gratitude. This may excite gratitude in others.

First let us look at the cause that we have for gratitude. Let me list just a few basic things that we as humans share on which we should be thankful; air, water, food. These things are free and are provided to us at no charge (yes you can grow your own food and collect your own water – it ain’t easy but it can be done). We can be thankful that we live in a country that allows us to pursue “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. We can be thankful for our jobs, our family, etc. My generation picked up the notion that all of the things in life are guaranteed to us. That is so far from the truth it isn’t even funny.

If I may talk spiritually for a second, we need to recognize our complete dependence on Christ. Look at what Paul says of Jesus in Colossians 1:

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Did you catch that? Jesus made everything. From the largest star to the smallest cell, Jesus made it all. Did you catch the back part of those verses ”in Him all things consist”. Other translations render this verse as “in Him all things are held together”, Jesus is the glue that is holding this existence together. That’s a cause to be thankful for.

How about another reason to be thankful to God from Colossians 1?

that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Let’s walk through this list backwards, shall we?

We have forgiveness of sins.
We have been redeemed through Christ’s blood.
We have been delivered from the kingdom of sin into Jesus’ kingdom.
We have been given the strength to endure.
We have been given the ability to know joy.

That’s a pretty cool list, isn’t it? Talk about a cause to be thankful. All of creation should be thankful because Jesus is holding everything together. The Christian should be especially thankful because Christ has delivered us from sin. It is a good thing to recognize our cause for gratitude…

Let’s move on to point 2 – the principle of gratitude. This goes back to the thought that I started the post with. The principle of gratitude is lost to us today. We have come to expect that everything that we receive is earned when in fact the only thing that we have earned is death. Why would I be so bold to say that? A couple of scriptures:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do we all know what a wage is? If you get a paycheck on Friday’s you know exactly what it is. A wage is something that is paid to you for a service performed. You deserve your wage because you have performed a service. Based on the above scripture what is the common truth about man? He has sinned. What wage does man deserve for the service that he has rendered unto God? Death. Because of man’s sin we can truly say that the only thing that man deserves in this life is death. If we can start living our lives with that truth at the back of our minds won’t that make us thankful for everything that we receive? We deserve nothing! How much different would the world be if man truly lived his life with a principle of gratitude. It would be a very good thing…

Finally let us talk about the expression of our gratitude. You want to know why we have trouble saying “Thank You”. It’s because it requires an amount of humility that most of us are unwilling to display. I just did a simple search in my Bible software for the phrase “Give thanks to…” It returned in the neighborhood of 50 verses that reference giving thanks to the Father. I’m sure if I did a more exhaustive search this number would increase dramatically. It is proper and fitting for us to render thanks to God. He does not have to do anything for us. We do not deserve His attention, much less His love.

Lest I drift too much from my original thought, the expression of our gratitude to God should bring others along for the ride. When we are the first to display a public lack of humility it makes it easier for those around us to do so as well. If we as a church could get hold of the idea that we are all bankrupt before the Father and be unashamed to share that with those around us how would it change our relationships with each other? How would it change our relationship with the Father if thanks to Him were close to our lips at all times?

Be quick to thank God for everything in your life. Be quick to sing His praises.

Grace and peace to you all…