Psalm 138:1

I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing Your praises before the gods.
Psalm 138:1

The heart of thanksgiving is developed only when we practice. We can plan our thanksgiving ahead of time, we can makes lists, we can remind ourselves to be thankful, but it’s only a manifestation of faith when we move from the mental practice of thanksgiving to the truth of heart-felt thanksgiving. I’ve had seasons when I practiced thanksgiving because I discovered that it was sinful not to be thankful. I started by looking around me, seeing creation, the blue sky, and the green trees in many different shades, the grass beginning to grow and the flowers starting to bud. I love the joy of seeing creation. It’s so incredibly beautiful that at times I’m overwhelmed with God’s creative beauty. From there I thank God for my family: a good wife of over 42 years, 6 wonderful children and their families, and what a joy to watch them love Jesus, sing, worship, and have fun. It’s wonderful and fulfilling for me.

I’m thankful for prayer, songs of praise, hymns, and celebration. I’m thankful for all the Lord has done for me personally. I’m thankful that I got to be a farm boy who played baseball in the cow pasture. We actually used dry cow pies for bases. It was fun and most of the time we needed to wash our feet before entering the house in order to get that green stuff out from between our toes. I’m thankful for many of my schoolteachers who helped me and encouraged me in so many positive ways. I’m blessed. I’ve enjoyed my life and it’s a joy to look back and see the Lord’s goodness. With all my heart I am thankful.
When I remember being saved and discovering that Jesus loves me and died for me, when I remember that He actually likes me, I am the most thankful. He actually wants to be close to me and grow in deep relationship with me. He wants to connect with me heart to heart to be unafraid, unhindered, and uninterrupted in our relationship. I am thankful for a Creator God who wants my time, my heart, my feelings, and my input. He loves us so deeply and I rejoice in that. The issue is that we need to be sure that we don’t take Him for granted, but with the freshness of the Holy Spirit rising in our hearts we keep close to God. We need to keep talking with Him, listening to Him, reading His Word, and choosing to be anchored in it. We will come to know His voice as He knows ours. We will come to know His heart as He knows ours. Let’s be thankful for the Word because with it we are not blind and wandering through life. We are guided step by step and are reassured that God’s plans are always good to give us a future and great hope. He’s coming back and with His power we will occupy until He comes. Let’s practice thanksgiving. Let’s move from the mental exercise of thanksgiving to a deep and abiding thankfulness for our God. Let’s draw near to God as He draws near to us. Come and join me and see that the Lord is good and worthy of all praise and thanks. Open your heart. God will show you His goodness. Be still and know that He is God and He loves you and has given you resurrection life and hope forever.