Thank-full

Warren Wiersby illustrated the problem of thankfulness. Not the use, but the absence. It comes natural to man to be unthankful. Maybe a better use of words is to say, ‘do not exercise thankfulness.’ In his commentary on Colossians. He told about a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, who was part of a life-saving squad. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston. One of those squad members, Edward Spencer, waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him. It wouldn’t have taken much for the rescued to seek the rescuer in thankful speech. In fact, all they had to do was show up at the man’s funeral. I guess even that was too difficult.

Thankfulness is to be exercised. It does not come natural, it is to be a fruit of a heart full of gratefulness. When the heart is full, it runs over. Is your’s full? David’s was. It’s debatable if David was the author of Psalm 136, but 1 Chronicles shows the same words in the same order. It could have been the adoration team’s responsibility, therefore they scribed it later. In either case, David did use these same words in at least 10 other locations. His heart was very full.

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 136.1-3)

If you are a follower of Christ, a saved, born again, disciple of Jesus Christ, in a personal and intimate way… the process of thanks-giving should be of highest priority to you. Psalm 136.1-3 begins with three expansive titles for God and makes each one a reason for us to be thankful. Each one requires reflection. Each one reminds us “his mercy endureth for ever.” Continual, non-stop, eternally abounding… mercy! Thank you Lord for that! I need some, how about you?

The first reference to the Lord is His awesome, sovereign name, Yahweh (LORD). It’s all caps, or perhaps in your Bible it’s small caps in the “lord” portion. In either case, that’s the indicator of His personal name for His own— Yahweh. The second title, “God of gods” highlights His supremacy. He’s not God among other, lesser gods, no… there’s no one else in His category. Any other gods are NOT God. The third title, “Lord of lords” points to God’s divine authority and His rightful rule in our lives. He is sovereign over ALL… much less His kids. 

Taken alone, these titles should provoke an appropriate amount of fear. Who are we talk about and to? We are giving thanks to THE One and only! He doesn’t need our thanks, but receives our gratitude anyway. And He receives our thanks because He loves us. He does so with a love quality that we can’t completely comprehend either. It is a perfect, unaltered, unadulterated, everlasting kind of love. We don’t deserve it. But He gives it anyway.  

Hebrews 13.15 says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Thanksgiving is the sacrifice. You may be thinking— ‘Okay, I know I should be more thankful. Fine, I’ll make a list of things I’m grateful for. I’ll make the sacrifice. I’ll be thankful.’ Well, that’s not exactly what this means, but at least you’re on the right track. A sacrifice is just that… a sacrifice. It costs you, personally. Is there any place or time where the praise of God costs you? Stop now and think just on that alone. It’s important. 

When we are at church, in a so-called ‘worship’ setting, does it cost you? Are you putting forth what would be considered “sacrifice” to God? If not, wouldn’t you consider that offensive if you were the one loving, sacrificed yourself, and rescued these kids?

It’s estimated that the over all cancer survival rate is 68%. That’s 20% higher than in the early 1970’s. That’s something to be thankful for! Thinking on that, I am reminded of a story told of an oncologist who said— “I hear the voice of an eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, “I don’t know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!” Our perspective is shot! God help me be more like Christina. 

We need a consistent habit of thanksgiving. I mean a new and improved habit of thanksgiving on the daily. Each and every day doing so on purpose. It’s not enough to stop bad habits, we must replace them with good ones, godly ones, biblical ones. It takes some effort. But He is worth it. In 1 Thessalonians 5.18 the scripture says— “In every thing give thanks…” Everything. Not that we are thankful for it, but we are for Him. This is why the rest of that verse says— “…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

This is His will for you. His will is always good for you. His will always serves out the better, greater purpose. Unless we are selfish, we can see that. Wait… maybe thats the problem?! Could it be that we are inherently selfish? Test yourself— are you thankful to Him in every situation? He knows best, but we do not. He knows what’s right around the corner and next year, but we do not. The LORD knows that if you begin to practice the habit of actionable thankfulness, in every situation, it will change your outlook, your way of thinking… your heart. 

It may be a horrible situation, but then there’s God’s presence. What could mean more to you than that? Well, here we go with the spoiled child, selfish thing again. Ive been there, might be there by the end of the day myself. It’s such a struggle while in this flesh, but that’s no excuse. I love Him, I want to think on Him, and I want Him with me more than I want the thing I feel I ‘need’ at that moment. God help us with some perspective!

Personally I ask the Lord to help me develop a deeply thankful heart to Him. In Ephesians 5.20 we find some answers for that— “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” No matter what’s happening, no matter how dark the moment, God is in control. He can be explicitly trusted. He’s working out a purpose beyond what you can imagine. Some of it you’ll see in this life; some of it you’ll see in the life to come. A heart full of gratitude will spill over and give thanks. It’s simple, it’s in the word itself… thank-full. Give back to the One who deserves to hear and see it from our lives. He rescued us, Give Thanks to Him.

Henry Smith wrote the lyrics to a chorus, taken right from the Psalms. The song is “Give Thanks”. I heard it first when I was in junior high, at camp in Clayton, Oklahoma. It was a chorus before the lesson that night. The speaker’s tone changed from the night before and the day time lessons. He was much more subdued. He spoke of thankfulness and how we are responsible to at the minimal say thank you to the one who rescued us. It finally connected. I was saved, but I didn’t see it like that before. I learned another aspect of my salvation… I was recused, and the one who rescued me deserves my thanks. In fact, I’m responsible to say and live it. The chorus goes like this:

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy One;
give thanks, because he’s given
Jesus Christ, his Son.
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy One;
give thanks, because he’s given
Jesus Christ, his Son.

And now let the weak say ‘I am strong’,
let the poor say ‘I am rich’,
because of what the Lord has done for us;
and now let the weak say ‘I am strong’,
let the poor say ‘I am rich’,
because of what the Lord has done for us.
Give thanks…