Pastor Jim submitted the below devotional on July 9, 2022…
Greetings Friends:
PLEASE READ: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13
“David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.“
WOW! What an amazing prayer offered by David! He recognizes that blessings come into our lives by the hand of God. David really expresses appreciation for all that God has blessed him with. As a child of God, we are reminded by Paul in Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…“.
Admittedly it is easy to overlook the every day things that make up our life and it’s only when we no longer have good health, or we are separated from a family member, a close friend, a confidant, enter a new phase of life, loose a beloved job, or have a tragedy strike that we suddenly realize what we had previously taken so much for granted.
I’m sure all of us have a long list of things, experiences, and people in our lives that we are grateful for. It is shocking in many ways when we realize that the things, experiences, and persons that come our way on the journey of life are often only for a brief moment (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 & Ecclesiastes 8:6a). I fear that there is a danger, call it a temptation if you like, to forget or overlook and express gratitude to the One who has blessed us, God.
Someone once said,
“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
As a people of God, like David in the Scripture noted above, we have the privilege and opportunity to recognize, appreciate, and thank God for the essential things of our lives.
Moses reminds the people that the blessings of the Promised Land is not something that they have earned or even deserve. They are reminded in clear terms not to forget to thank the One who has graciously given all this to them. So Moses offers the following instruction, “Make certain you do not forget the Lord your God. … Remember that it is the Lord who has given you everything you need” (Deuteronomy 8:11, 18).
David sings in 1 Chronicles 16:8-12, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.”
The psalmist writes in Psalm 47:7, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.”
The Apostle Paul repeats this call to thanksgiving when he writes, “Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16).
Again the psalmist writes, “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song” (Psalms 95:2). A spirit of thanksgiving is a distinguishing mark of a disciple of Christ.
Stop and think for a moment: What and/or Who are each of us thankful for? Let us offer praise and thanksgiving to God!
Shalom,
Pastor Jim
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