Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100, NKJV
Have you ever thought, What do I have to be thankful for? Or am I the only one? I mean, have you ever looked around, taken inventory, and felt like someone else got all the gold and you got the shaft? Have you ever truly wondered, God, why should I be thankful. Nothing good ever happens to me. If you've ever had those kinds of thoughts and feelings, you are not alone. And I've got a feeling God might understand.
I love those heroes of faith mentioned in the great Hebrews 11 passage. But think about how life turned out for some of them.
Abel: Gee God, I did everything right, I offered the more excellent sacrifice, and you honored me in front of my brothers. And what did I get for it? A cracked skull and a shallow grave. Thanks alot.
Noah: Gee God, I did everything you told me to do. I built this big ol' boat, and loaded it full of animals, and for 100 years I preached your message of repentance to all my kinsman, and they still all drowned. And what did I get for it? Yeah, my family was saved from the flood, but all those days cooped up on the boat turned me to drinking, and my youngest kid has no respect for me. Thanks alot.
Abraham: Gee God, I followed you everywhere you sent, and even when I got off track down their in Egypt for a while, you were still with me. You made all these promises, and I do have a wonderful son who makes me laugh, but where's all this land you told me I was gonna own? The only title deed I have to my name is a grave plot in the cemetery at Hebron, and I'm soon to end up there. Thanks alot.
Isaac: Gee God, you let my wife conceive, but now I've got one son that has no regard for you, and another son who has no regard for me, and they usually act like they're going to kill each other. Thanks alot.
Jacob: Gee God, you blessed me and changed my name to something cooler than ConMan. But these four wives are driving me crazy, always fighting over whose bed I'm gonna sleep in, and my kids can't get along, and to top it all off, my favorite son, my heir, the one in whom I put all my confidence, got lost trying to find the sheep pen and ended up as lion scat. Thanks alot.
Joseph: Gee God, you told me I was gonna rule over all my brothers. I just didn't know it was going to mean spending time in a pit, in a slave caravan, in Potiphar's house with a brazen hussy after me all the time, and finally in prison when I stood by my principles. Thanks alot.
Moses: Gee God, I did everything you asked of me, even though I told you it wasn't gonna work. And now after 40 years of dragging my blessed assurance all over this desert with a couple million whining, complaining, ornery people, I've preached funerals for everyone I've ever known, my own family turned against me, and now I don't even get to go into the promised land. Thanks alot.
Now, I could be letting my technicolor imagination get the better of my Biblical interpretation, but how are things in your world? Do you ever ask yourself the question, "What do I have to be thankful for?"
My wife left me.
My kids hate me.
My dog bites me every time I try to pet him.
My neighbors despise me.
My brothers won't talk to me.
My church family ignores me.
My job just got eliminated.
My stocks just crashed.
My retirement account was embezzled by a gazillionaire.
My kid wrecked my new car.
My doctor just told me I have six months to live.
What in the world do I have to be thankful for???
People, I have the answer. You thank God anyway. You thank Him in the good times, and you thank Him in the bad times. You thank Him for the good things, and you thank Him for the bad things. You thank Him when you feel blessed, and you thank Him when you're feeling not so much. You thank God anyway!
My daddy used to sing the song:
Hallelujah anyhow!
Never, never let your troubles get you down!
When life's problems come your way
Hold your head up high and say
Hallelujah anyhow!
So thank God for the sunshine, and thank Him for the rain. Thank Him for the mountaintop, and thank Him for the valley. Thank Him for the straight path, and thank Him for the rough. Thank God for the gentle breeze, and thank Him for the storm. Thank Him when He's done something, and thank Him when you don't think He's done anything at all. Thank Him for what He's already done, what He's promised, what you know He's going to do. And if you can't do that, just thank God for Who He Is, for He is worthy!
Thank you God for the road that got me here. I wondered sometimes if you knew what you were doing, or if I did. Turns out, you knew the way the whole time.
Thank you God for the bad things that happened that you turned around for good. I wondered sometimes how it would all work out, but I always trusted when You said it would. And it turns out You knew what You were talking about.
Thank you God for the blessing of your presence, in bitter days and in sweet. I couldn't have made it without you, and I don't intend to start trying now. Your ways are better, Your thoughts are higher, and even thought I'm still learning...I do trust you.
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