Are We Thankful Enough?
Psalm 9:1-2 "I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Thy wonders. I will be glad and exult in Thee; I will sing praise to Thy name, O Most High".
Psalm 7:17 "I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High"
As we ponder these two passages, we see both speaking of being thankful to the Lord, but we also notice that there is an "and" in the passage. This "and" is a conjunction that joins the two parts. Not only are we to be thankful, but we are to sing praise to the God of heaven. This singing is not to be done only in private, but in public as well. Telling people about the wonders of God is the best way to share God with them. If we cannot convince people that we consider the Lord great and awesome and wonderful beyond compare, is there a chance they also can become excited about the greatness of God? Not likely.
Psalm 9:11 "Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples His deeds". If we would go through the Psalms we would see this phrase repeated often.
The holiday of "Thanksgiving" is approaching us. However, true Christians are to be thankful continuously. We should never stop thanking God for the mercy He has shown toward us and the blessings he has given to us. And our gratitude should be expressed in prayers, but also in our actions and our speech. We should tell others who may not be as blessed as we are about God and what the Lord can do for them. If God can provide salvation for me and you, why not to anyone who will come to Him in humility and godly sorrow.
Psalm 34:1-3 "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together".
Praising God daily and hourly should be our response to His grace. We are to share God with others and they should join us in our praise together. Boasting is egotistical, but when we boast about God, it is not. The Lord is to be highly praised and the more we do it, and if we get others to do it, God is glorified in the minds of those praising Him, and bystanders are learning about the greatness of God.
Psalm 35: 18 "I will give Thee thanks in the great congregation; I will praise Thee among a mighty throng". Our praise is not only to be private but also among many. The great congregation here is making reference to all Israel. We should translate that into our situation and we should not be afraid to speak of God anywhere in this country we live in. It seems that many dislike the mention of God and they are very vocal about it. But if we do not speak up for God, who will? God has already been dismissed from so much of our culture, and what little remains in our culture is for the use of profanity and cursing, and most people by their actions seem to tell God "go wait in the corner until we have need of you" The true Christian should not allow this to happen.
Psalm 70:4 "Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; and let those who love Thy salvation say continually, 'let God be magnified".
The Christian should be glad and happy and joyful in knowing God and understanding the salvation He has provided. For we could not provide salvation of ourselves or by anything we do. Salvation is of the LORD, and only He can provide that eternal life. All that is demanded of us to receive this eternal life is practically everything. We need to submit to God and be obedient to His commands. His commands were given to us for our good, and when we live the way God wants us to live, He will be glorified, and we will be a special people.
It is sad that so many who have put their trust in God walk around like they lost their favorite pet. Many show by their actions that they do not feel they can have any fun any longer. Oh, they make such sacrifice for God. On the contrary, we should be excited and joyful, and show such happiness that we are thankful all the time, and we praise God and thank God on a regular basis. We should be so happy, that we just want to share it with others. If we received a reward, medal, certificate, or trophy as recognition for our accomplishments, we would share those with others and ask them to rejoice with us. That is just natural and it shows us that whatever time and effort and training went into our behavior that it was all worth it.
We should apply the time, effort, training to win the prize. In Philippians 3:14 Paul writes: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". We all should have this attitude. We have not received our ultimate reward yet, but it is reserved for us; it has our name on it; the payment has already been made. What is required of us is to continue pressing on toward that goal of heaven and eternal life. Along our journey through life, we will meet many people. If we can get them to praise God and learn to be obedient, they can go to heaven also.
Remember to be thankful, and try to share the goodness of God with others by your speech, behavior, and actions. Let people know that you are on the Lord's side, and are thankful for His gift of life.
By Carey Scott

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