A Thankful Heart changes Life

 

Last week we took some newcomers to an event that they had never experienced in their part of the world. They thanked us with gracious words that deeply touched my heart. It made me desire to know them better and even do even more for them. Is this how God feels when we thank Him? 

The Bible is filled with expressions of thankfulness and its importance. This is likely the source of the quote that I’ve often repeated: “All the problems in the world would be solved if everyone was thankful.”

As my daughter responded, “Instead of greedy” yet there is even more. Thankfulness suggests that someone is being appreciated. We thank servers for bringing our meals, drivers for delivering us safely, friends for inviting us to their home, and a host of other blessings on our lives. Being thankful draws us closer to other people.

What about God? Reading Romans 1:18ff carefully shows that unthankful people are on a slippery slope downward into sin and that “God gives them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” Lack of gratitude is serious stuff.

Instead of going that route, thankfulness should also acknowledge the source of all goodness. 

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:16–18)

All that is good comes from the Lord. He loves me and wants me living as His image-bearer. I am certain that God does not grumble and complain like I do. Not only that, when I am thanked, I know that I have done something good and whatever it was, God's Spirit was involved. It is really God who should be thanked, not me. 

He urges a thankful attitude because when I am grateful, I am honoring Him and am communicating to Him appreciation for who He is and what He does. He deserves thanksgiving.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)

Jesus thanked His Father, and I am to be like Jesus. He was thankful at meals, thankful for answered prayer, and thankful for the way God worked to draw people to Himself:

He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 15:36)

. . . .  Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me…” (John 11:41)

. . . .  Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children…” (Matthew 11:25)

While I am thrilled to be thanked for doing what God put on our hearts to do, those that thanked us are people who are always thanking God too. This is one of the reasons that we love to spend time with them. Imagine if everyone was like that! It would put an end to antagonism and strife. No more wars, only glad hearts.

PRAY: How can I say thanks for all that You have done for me? Things so undeserved — to prove Your love for me. The words to a song, and my own words from a heart filled with gratitude — rather than complaining, wanting more, never satisfied, bring joy. You are an awesome God. You hear me, provide good things for me and for those who trust You. You open our hearts to know truth and see what is hidden from those who are not grateful. Work in their hearts too. May the people of this messy world become totally genuinely thankful for You and for all that You do. 

 

Old Covenant cf. New Covenant

Joshua 18:1–19:9, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10, Psalm 56:1–13

The OT regulations for land allotment did not include the priests. “To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him . . .  The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage . . .” (Joshua 13:14 and 18:7)

In the book of Numbers, the Lord explained that He would be “your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel” and that “the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20–24)

In the NT, God tells Christians that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) There is nothing about inheriting land or land allotment, only that all of God’s people now inherit eternal life.

I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the old covenant is a fuzzy picture that becomes clearer in the new covenant. The priests were people wholly dedicated to God, serving on behalf of others. They got no land from God, but neither do God’s NT priests. For us, this is not our permanent dwelling place. The earth is not our home. We look forward to our eternal home, and for now are like Jesus who owned nothing yet owns everything. I’m learning about the types and shadows in the OT and if this is not one of them, it is an interesting comparison.

The NT verses for today remind me not to get too excited about the discoveries that I make for God isn’t going to let me have a swelled head about anything. He said these amazing verses to Paul, a much wiser and more knowledgeable Christian than I’ll ever be . . .

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)

I don’t mind the weakness part nearly as much as I once did. Along with the psalmist, I am able to say . . .

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?  . . . You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?  . . . I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. (Psalm 56:3-4, 8-11, 12–13)

Thank you, Jesus, for the most amazing day of blessing, weakness, and contentment.

Astonished Gratitude

My sister uses a particular devotion guide. One day last week she was struggling with a sense of neglect and loneliness. She opened her devotional booklet and that was the topic for today. She was blessed as she read the Bible verses that answered her need. Then, on a whim, she opened a classic devotional book to the same date and was astonished that it also addressed the same topic.

God is good at doing things like that. Many Christians tell of how their devotional material hits whatever issue or questions that they are experiencing on that day. I suspect that it is not the devotional material that He lines up to fit our situation, but the situations that He lines up to make us ready to hear what He is going to say to us. We hear better when need makes the words relative to our experience.

The psalmist may have been thinking this, but in any case, he wrote lavishly about the decrees and laws of God. He also knew that without God’s help, he would not “get it” when he read the Bible. He says…

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18)

The Word of God is a wonder, but I am also amazed that I finally “get it” and wonder at it and that my wonder stays and deepens. Each day, I am astonished by something new from God, and if not astonished, certainly blessed by a deeper and more perfect knowledge of God and eternal matters. This is of God, not about me.

As today’s devotional says wonder is a valuable commodity. Think how easily the facility of wonder vanishes. I remember our short year in Alaska and the amazing scenery. One day we came out of the grocery store in Soldatna and the sky was overcast in “buttermilk” clouds, not particular in themselves, but the low sun made them blood red. It was spectacular, but we were the only people in that parking lot looking up. For the locals, this had become commonplace, not quite familiarity that breeds contempt, but along that line.

Perhaps this capacity to take things for granted is the reason Jesus tells us to pray for our daily bread. We spiritualize that and make it mean daily spiritual nourishment through a quiet time with God and in Bible study, but He probably meant daily bread on the table, food for our bodies. In North America, many people think nothing of that. Eating is commonplace, but if I pray for it and am thankful for God’s provision, I’m not only more appreciative for the food, but for other things, even the small thing.

This attitude of thankfulness is important. One of my course professors says that grumbling was the worst sin in the Old Testament. If I am not thankful, I am grumbling. Gratitude is vital to spiritual health and losing my sense of wonder messes with my gratitude.

For those reasons, I want to appreciate even the least of things, like the brilliant red on the sunlit building across the street from my hotel (we are on a business trip) and the incredible blue sky, and a good sleep last night, and my husband leaving me with a platter of breakfast before he went to his meetings. I’ve the privilege today of helping my sister sort the remains of her flooded home. I am thankful that I am able to walk and move and communicate, that I can drive a car and hear and see, that I can wonder at the world around me.

I’m also thankful that the Holy Spirit still speaks to me, shows me what God wants for me each day, even each moment. The wonder of God’s care is never earned or deserved, only to be received with astonished and humble gratitude.

In harmony with His world

Near our home is a wildlife sanctuary. It isn’t famous nor does anyone charge admission. Instead, it is a deep coulee, heavily treed that runs from a highway on the south toward a main avenue on the north. This subdivision was purchased and built from a man who insisted these several acres be left in their natural state. Some have seen moose in this wild and tangled place, but it is inhabited mostly by birds and smaller animals.

The park has two paved trails going in opposite directions from the entrance across the street. I often ride my bike on these trails and am amazed that I can go from city traffic into a forest containing no motors and little noise. The most delightful treasures are the smells. I detect the perfume of clover, wild roses, tree leaves, mushrooms, mown grass (from homes on the park’s perimeter), and wild flowers. These will change as summer progresses, but return in every spring in May and June.

These stressful days under the discipline of God and the pressures of life, I am blessed when I get outside under blue skies and bright sun. His care seems nearer, easier to experience when the leaves rustle and birds sing. Today’s devotional reminds me of the power of wandering in a park even as God is working to change my life…

Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. (Job 5:17–23)

God’s blessings, even in His discipline are genius. He works to change my life, but in the working, He also brings great joy and peace. I can count on Him to bring June every year, with these aromas, the sights and sounds of renewing growth and nature’s pleasures, yet in Him they never become ordinary. These simple pleasures delight every heart that gives them attention. It is God hugging me with His great love. Is that what it means to “have a covenant with the stones of the field”?

The speaker in these verses is talking of those who trust in God, who are at peace with Him and entered into a covenant with Him. He is saying that if I am in league with heaven, then I will also be in league with the very stones of the earth.

I know that is true. Peace with God changes my relationship to the birds, beasts and flowers around me. Just as those in love say the sky is a brighter blue, being in a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ changes the attitude I have toward the world around me, even changes the way nature blesses me.

Those whose spiritual and moral state is base and in defiance of God tend to mock His laws and His person. They see no reason why they should not toss their garbage on the earth. While some of them hug trees and defend seals, they do it because they worship those created things rather than the One who created them. Godlessness puts the human heart out of harmony with tree and flower and summer delights. When I am at odds with the Lord, I am the same and do not even notice sunsets and gentle breezes.

Being at peace with God, even when God is reproving and wounding me, means having a comradeship with the created world. It means reading sermons in the trees of the forest, the grass of the plains, the stones of the field. This is not about the beauty of an artistic scene, but the morality and rightness of God’s handiwork that becomes a ministry to my heart, that blesses me and restores a deeper sense of His love for me.

Sadly, to be out of touch with God puts me out of touch with God’s ideal in all that He has made. Yet to be in tune with Him joyfully puts me in league with even the stones of the field.