And Be Thankful

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods." Psa. 95:1-3. Can't you just feel the uninhibited joy, even excitement, of David through these words as he praises God with love overflowing his heart? He invites us all to join him as he sings for joy, shouts aloud, and extols God for His greatness. But how does David say we should come before God? "Come before Him with Thanksgiving."

We are in that time of year when our nation celebrates coming before God with Thanksgiving. To me this is our most noble national holiday. If you haven't read, or have forgotten the Trying to Walk article from Nov. 27 of last year, "Thankful for Thanksgiving," I urge you to find it in the "archives" and read it for elaboration on my thoughts about Thanksgiving as a holiday. This article will be less about the history and meaning of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and more about you and me coming before God with Thanksgiving.

James tells us in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." If we take to heart the words of the song, "Count Your Blessings," we should notice that our blessings are many and we should be thankful to God for providing us with these blessings.

It is amazing how much a person's life and outlook can be improved by trading a heart filled with self-centered pity for a heart filled with thanksgiving. The self-centered "pity party" heart will lead to hostility and resentment. The heart filled with thanksgiving is busy noticing blessings and being filled with joy because of them. Paul tells us in 1 Thess. 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It’s instructive, if we open our minds to see it, that even when God asks us to do something that honors Him, it brings good results to us.

Are you a stedfast follower of Christ? Have you sacrificed worldly pleasures to follow Him? Have you been true to Him in the face of strong temptations thrown at you by the devil? Has it been tough? Has the world treated you badly because of your stand for truth? Do your fellow Christian’s fail to notice your efforts and to encourage you? Jesus says to you, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial . . . I will make [you] a pillar in the temple of My God . . ." And Paul adds in 1 Cor. 15:57, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Praise God; and be thankful.

Are things not going well in your life? Does it seem that every time you’re about to turn things around a new obstacle arises to bring you down? Are things stacked against you so that you can barely keep your head above water? Paul reminds us in Rom. 8:18ff, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. . . . For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope . . . But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” This reminder comes from a man who was shipwrecked three times, imprisoned in stocks and beaten, stoned and left for dead and more. Following his example, praise God; and be thankful.

Have you turned your back on God? We’re you formerly faithful in His service, but now have let the cares of the world separate you from your Savior? Unlike Moses, have you been willing to enjoy the pleasures of sin (for a season)? Do you regret your decisions but feel powerless to turn your life around and be accepted by God again? Jesus tells the story of the son who demanded his portion of the inheritance from his father, then set about wasting it in riotous living to the extent he was happy to eat the garbage thrown into the pig pen. He could go no lower. He headed back to his father’s house to beg to be a servant, no longer a son. In Luke 15:20, Jesus says, “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” The father wouldn’t hear his talk of being a servant instead of a son, but reinstated the boy with a feast in his honor.

You are the son. God is the father. It should bring tears to your eyes. Praise God; and be thankful.

Have you drifted away from God and come back? Have you fallen away again, and come back? Have you repeated this so many times that you’re convinced God is through with you? Convinced He’ll put up with no more of your fickle self? Peter once asked Jesus if he, Peter, would be required to forgive his penitent brother as many as seven times. In Matthew 18:22, “Jesus said, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Jesus wasn’t saying 490 is the magic number. He was saying never stop forgiving. Always keep on forgiving a penitent person. Jesus was describing what He’ll do for you. Praise God; and be thankful.

Have you spent your life in opposition to God? Have you opposed Him and His church whenever you had the opportunity? Have you done the devil’s bidding, but now you see what really matters? Is your problem that you’re certain that God would never allow such a reprobate as you among His people?

When Zacchaeus, hated as a tax collector, generally thieves who enriched themselves by stealing from the people, became interested in the teaching of Jesus, he climbed a tree to see Jesus as Jesus walked down the road. Coming to Zacchaeus, this thieving, rich, dishonest tax collector in Luke 19:6, “Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must stay at your house.” In Acts 2, a group of the very people who only days before were calling out for Jesus to be crucified were gathered together. Peter preached to them and told them point blank they had crucified the very son of God. When they followed Peter’s instructions (Acts 2:38) regarding how to make this right, notice God’s reaction. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47. When Saul was imprisoning and killing Christians, Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and told a penitent Saul where he could find help to become a Christian, himself. (Acts 9:6.) God will accept anyone who will renounce sin and submit to Him. Praise God; and be thankful.

Why would God be so forgiving and accepting of people who have spurned him? “God is love.” 1 John 4:8. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1. “He has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.” 2 Tim, 1:9. “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” Titus 2:11.“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Eph. 2:8.

The question was “Why?” We are not dealing with how God’s plan is arranged, or what it might be that he expects of us. The question is “why did God” even provide for our salvation? The scriptures above (and many more) tell us that while we can never earn it on our own, it was because of God’s great love for us that He extended grace that allows for our salvation. Grace is properly defined as the extending of rewards that have not been earned and, moreover, are not deserved.

That God would do such a thing is most comforting and should be a source of hope and consolation to the troubled soul. It is why Paul tells us in Col. 3:15, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”