Give Thanks To God...And declare It To Others

Psalm 107:1-3 -  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the LORD say this-- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,  those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

 

This anonymous Psalm tells us to do two things.  We are to give thanks to God for all he has done…and we are to tell of the many ways he has shown his love to us…to everyone that we meet. It is not so much a mandate to give thanks and witness…it is a reminder that the love God has shown us should be declared to world.

 

At least one thank you should be included in every prayer. It might be easy to just say a blanket thank you at the beginning of a prayer…..but sometimes we need to really reflect on the things that God has done to help us the most...even if it happened years ago. God needs to hear on a regular basis that we are thankful for his love and help.

 

It develops an attitude of gratitude that keeps us humble…and guards against pride taking humilities place.  We naturally want to share the great stories of how he rescued and saved us from our own destruction. We bubble over in thanks to God…as we share with others how loving and merciful he has been to us.

 

The more he has rescued us from…the greater our praise.  The more sin he has removed from our lives…the greater our love for him.  Like that woman in Luke 7 that washed Jesus’ feet with her tears…anointed them with the costliest perfume she owned…and dried them off with her beautiful long hair.  He forgave a ton of sin in her life…her act of love was definitely not to witness…but to try and thank him for loving her so much.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that I need to really thank you ….not just say a blanket thanks when I get a chance.  Help me to really reflect today on the many sins you have forgiven in my life…and say a heartfelt thank you for each one.  Help me come to you like that woman you forgave…and wash your feet with my tears of joy for how you saved me.  Then let allow me to cross paths with someone that needs to hear the story of how you saved me….so they can begin to know your love too. Amen.