Thank You, Lord

“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to Your Name, O Most High, to proclaim Your love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For You make me glad by Your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O Lord, how profound Your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. But You, O Lord, are exalted forever.” Psalm 92:1-8

Thanksgiving is upon us. Which means (for good or bad) Christmas is at the door and another year is about to become history. One definite positive in all of this is that the Lord’s coming is one year closer than it has been. We say with John, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

In 1621 the then Governor of Plymouth, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and praise. In 1789 George Washington wrote: “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid and favors…Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of the great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, and that will be that we may then unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer on us.” Wow! What politician living today would dare write such a thing? Finally, in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Like Washington before him, Lincoln acknowledged the need for a day to thank Almighty God for His many blessings upon us.

We have much to praise the Lord for. I want to name a few things for which I am personally thankful. After all, “It is good to praise the Lord!”

By the grace of God: I am what I am. While I am a long, long way from perfect, I am not what I used to be. I used to be lost without Christ. I used to be headed for eternity in hell. I used to think this world had something to offer.

I have what I have. I don’t own a home. I don’t have a large bank account and I don’t have a healthy retirement fund. But, I have a roof over my head and I sleep in a warm bed every night next to the woman I love and have spent the better part of my life with.

I’m able to do what I do. There’s a lot of things I can’t do. But, there is so much I can do. There are those who can do so little because of restrictions upon them, perhaps for medical reasons. I feel very free, thank You, Lord.

I have the family I have. I have a wonderful wife, three children and their spouses that I am very proud of, and six grandchildren that are all that a grandfather could ask for. All that are at least old enough to know what they are doing have trusted Christ as Savior. That means we spend eternity together! How blessed I am.

I have the health I have. My health is not 100%. But, I know so many who are suffering right now. Thank You Lord for giving me the health that You have.

For the friends that I have. I have a long list of friendships that has evolved over the years. I thank God for every one of them. This, of course, includes my church family. What a blessing they are to me.

I know Christ as my Savior. This is the greatest blessing of all. Just to know that Christ is my Savior and that I will surely spend eternity with Him is the greatest gift of all. I want to proclaim His love, Vs. 2.

I’m thankful for my God: A star-filled night speaks of His majesty. I want to break out in song: “Majesty, worship His majesty! Unto Jesus be all glory, power and praise… So exalt, lift up on high the Name of Jesus, Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King…”

Creation speaks of His omnipotence: Yes, God created it all. And He created it all in six literal twenty-four hour days. If you can’t believe that, I feel sorry for you that your god is not that powerful – mine is!

The seasons speak of His care and He allows us to share in its beauty. As much as I don’t like winter, the seasons do show us God’s care. In the spring comes new life as the trees bud again and the earth takes on a magnificent green. Summer brings with it warm summer days filled with all the activities of children. Fall brings with it the beauty of the leaves as they turn a glorious array of yellows, oranges, reds, and, it seems, every color in between. Then it’s as if God puts it all to bed for a few months under a blanket of snow. The winter may seem long but it sure is beautiful when God once again awakens all of creation with the spring rains.

Death speaks of His Lordship. Nothing speaks to who’s in charge like who holds sway over life and death. Christ has made that clear. We read in Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Christ made it clear as to His power when in John 10:17-18, He said, “I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

Christians speak of His grace. We are reminded in Ephesians 2:8,9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are all saved by His grace. Thank you Lord. I am thankful for a God who has poured out His grace upon me.

I’m thankful for a God who has given me so much, for a God who has allowed so much into my life. I love You, Lord. I want to worship You.