THANKFULNESS IS THERAPY
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, (Psalm 92:1-2)
In an ever-increasing world of corruption and evil, the nature of man doesn’t have to work hard to find fault. It’s almost as if we have a radar for faults. Walking into any room or conversation, our fault-finding radar is always on high alert, our eyes naturally zero in on what’s wrong visually and our ears pick up the slightest outliers. There is no training needed for this skillset and what’s even more fascinating is that our analysis is usually accurate. Although our insights may be right, our condition can be so wrong. Too much fault finding quickly turns the condition of the heart to cynicism and bitterness.
Should one find themselves struggling with the gift of fault finding, the greatest remedy can be uncovered in thanksgiving. A.W. Tozer once said, “Thanksgiving has great creative power. The heart that is constantly overflowing with gratitude will be safe from those attacks of resentfulness and gloom that bother so many religious persons. A thankful heart cannot be cynical.” This leaves us with the million-dollar question of why is it my nature to find fault instead of thanksgiving? Is it because there is more fault to find than good? I actually think it’s just the opposite, isn’t the reality that there is far more good than bad. What if God has given us so much good that we have begun to take the good for granted. This requires a shift in intentionality, a refocusing of sight and an appreciation for just how significant thanksgiving really is. According to Psalm 92, “It is good to give thanks…”
We don’t have to wait for a holiday to give thanks, it can and should be on our lips always. We can begin with thanksgiving for creation. Out of the empty void of nothingness, God made it all. In His beauty, He created a stunning world with science, math, and life. He chose to share His glory with us and allow us to partake in it. We continue to give thanks when we think about how we sinned, and He gave His only Son to die for us and imparted His Holy Spirit to live in us, giving us eternal life through Jesus Christ. We go onto to tell God how grateful we are that He shared His bride, the Church, to be a precious help with spiritual shepherding, wonderful worship, and phenomenal fellowship. The gift of humanity is found in parents, teachers, patriots, and every man and woman of all nationalities who have contributed to the health and advancement of God’s great creation.
The difficulty is not in finding blessings to count, but to find the words and the time to articulate them all. God is truly good, and His goodness is all around us. It’s no wonder that we don’t have a thanksgiving radar, it would be going off 24/7. So, because God’s goodness is all around me, I won’t be silent, and I won’t take it for granted. I will daily declare His steadfast love in the morning and His faithfulness by night. I leave us with some thanksgiving therapy from one of my very favorite hymns – How Great Thou Art
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Happy Thanksgiving to my church family!
Pastor Ryan