Giving Thanks in All Times - Pt. 2

 

David’s Song of Thanks. Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! (1 Chronicles 16:8–13 ESV).

 

God has continued to remind me through the years of how important it is to be thankful. That thankfulness should result in my willingness to share the goodness and grace God has shown to me with others. The picture I’ve attached is just two days after Faith and Logan were born. They were still in the NICU because of their weight and being six weeks premature. They certainly were little. Faith (on the left) weighed 4 lbs. 11 ounces; and, Logan (on the right) was a bit heavier at 5 lbs. 1 ounce. They looked so fragile in the basinet, yet I saw the strength of the grace of God surrounding them.

 

The doctors were encouraging, though there was one thing that they revealed to Kyle and Brandy that was concerning. Logan’s palm lines were unusual. Some believed that it may be an indicator of an illness that could affect his mental development. Standing at the basinet with Kyle, as he shared that news, he told me the only way it would not be a concern was if it was a genetic marker that was passed down from parents or grandparents. As he described the lines he told me that Logan’s did not separate in the middle of his palm, rather there was a line that went straight across the palm. He asked me if I knew of anyone in our family who might have had the same marker. I lifted my left-hand palm up to him and said, “You mean like this?” My palm line does not separate, and though people have thought many things about me, mental deficiency was never one of them! He sighed and said, “I never noticed that about your hand.” I said, “I guess Logan got a little of me from God.” And we both chuckled a bit. By the way, Logan’s mental ability is just fine. He will be graduating from Texas A&M in May with a 3.96 GPA. He is way better than his grandpa in that department!

 

The key is in the sharing of God’s good toward us. Being thankful is a witness. In our reading today, King David wanted to tell everyone how great God is! The occasion of bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem was no exception. David wanted everyone to join in the celebration of praise.

David’s psalm is long and rich. It sparks our praise for a wide variety of things: for God’s wonderful acts and his holy name (vv. 9-10); for God’s strength, “miracles, and the judgments he pronounced” (v. 12); that God “remembers his covenant forever” (v. 15); for God’s protection when his people were vulnerable (vv. 19-22); and, for that “splendor and majesty are before him, strength and joy are in his dwelling place” (v. 27). The families of all nations are then invited, even commanded, to give God “the glory due his name,” to bring an offering, and to worship him “in the splendor of his holiness.”

 

My question for you as we approach this season of Thanksgiving is what can you add to this rich list of thanksgiving? A thankful heart should be a testimony to the greatness of God!