Overflowing Gratitude
Verse for Today: Thursday, November 25, 2010
Psalms 71:22 - I will praise You with a harp for Your faithfulness, O my God.
There are times in our lives when we run out of words to thank someone who has done something great for us. At such times, our words are supported by body language of various kinds. The Psalmist is faced with such a situation when he found out that the Lord has done great things for him and that He has been faithful to the uttermost all the way relentlessly. Such faithfulness is unseen among humans. And it is all the more astonishing because the faithfulness of God is not extended to man in return for something man has done for God. Even when man doesn't deserve any thing from God, He has exhibited total and absolute faithfulness to man because God has promised certain things to man and His promises are on Himself. The God of truth stands by what He says He will do, but when man understands the depth of it, he find that he is short of words and expressions. So man takes the help of musical instruments to support his emotions as he tries to express his grateful heart before God. This is the context of why the Psalmist is using a harp to underscore his gratefulness to God. Some times our body might shake a bit or eyes either remain closed or twinkle with tears of gratitude when we express our thankfulness to the Lord. At such times, we want to tell the world what the Lord has done for us in so many different ways, and might want to keep on speaking about the benevolence of the Lord and the power of His unchanging promises. The sky and the earth will be removed and even the most powerful and influential people might change their words. But the Lord never changes and is the same yesterday and today and forever. His promises are always 'yes' because if even an iota of it changes, God's reputation will be at stake. Are we not glad that we have the privilege to serving such an unchanging and perfectly faithful Lord in this life!
Dear friend, have you found the Lord utterly and absolutely faithful? Is there any time in your experience when He did not keep His promises? If He is the unchanging Lord, have you acknowledged it to Him and thanked Him immensely? Is your life one of abounding gratitude to God for all that is happening in your life, or do you have the tenacity to think that part of your achievement is because of your smartness and intelligence? We must understand that God's ways are far above that of ours and His acts far outsmart the best that man can create. Not only that, when God does something in our lives, He takes full responsibility for its consequences also. As God leads you day by day, all He expects in return is to see that you are truly and sincerely grateful to Him. If you are grateful, God wants you to express it in as many ways as possible, personally and in the presence of other people. You may praise God in the company of God's people for their encouragement and confidence to keep on trusting in the promises of God. You may also testify to the faithfulness of God in the company of people who do not know God personally in their lives, so that it will be a challenge for them to take the right steps to get to know and trust in this Lord. Those of us who have experienced this absolutely faithful Lord in our lives several times should turn out to lead a life of thankful praise and our expression of gratitude ought to be the best advertisement for the faithfulness of God. We do not need to be embarrassed about praising God openly and can follow the example of king David. He had no hesitation to publicly express his emotions to the Lord in the open when the whole of Israel was watching. He never felt loss of dignity because he openly expressed himself before the Lord because he was so deeply moved by the faithfulness of God to him. Let us be challenged today by the zeal with which David praised God and how he used musical support to enhance the power of his expression of thankfulness to the faithfulness to God. God surely saw his heart and commended him because he was a man after God's own heart.
Psalms 71:14 - But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.
Thought for Today
A heart overflowing with gratitude seeks to abound in praise.
Verse for Today: Thursday, November 25, 2010
Psalms 71:22 - I will praise You with a harp for Your faithfulness, O my God.
There are times in our lives when we run out of words to thank someone who has done something great for us. At such times, our words are supported by body language of various kinds. The Psalmist is faced with such a situation when he found out that the Lord has done great things for him and that He has been faithful to the uttermost all the way relentlessly. Such faithfulness is unseen among humans. And it is all the more astonishing because the faithfulness of God is not extended to man in return for something man has done for God. Even when man doesn't deserve any thing from God, He has exhibited total and absolute faithfulness to man because God has promised certain things to man and His promises are on Himself. The God of truth stands by what He says He will do, but when man understands the depth of it, he find that he is short of words and expressions. So man takes the help of musical instruments to support his emotions as he tries to express his grateful heart before God. This is the context of why the Psalmist is using a harp to underscore his gratefulness to God. Some times our body might shake a bit or eyes either remain closed or twinkle with tears of gratitude when we express our thankfulness to the Lord. At such times, we want to tell the world what the Lord has done for us in so many different ways, and might want to keep on speaking about the benevolence of the Lord and the power of His unchanging promises. The sky and the earth will be removed and even the most powerful and influential people might change their words. But the Lord never changes and is the same yesterday and today and forever. His promises are always 'yes' because if even an iota of it changes, God's reputation will be at stake. Are we not glad that we have the privilege to serving such an unchanging and perfectly faithful Lord in this life!
Dear friend, have you found the Lord utterly and absolutely faithful? Is there any time in your experience when He did not keep His promises? If He is the unchanging Lord, have you acknowledged it to Him and thanked Him immensely? Is your life one of abounding gratitude to God for all that is happening in your life, or do you have the tenacity to think that part of your achievement is because of your smartness and intelligence? We must understand that God's ways are far above that of ours and His acts far outsmart the best that man can create. Not only that, when God does something in our lives, He takes full responsibility for its consequences also. As God leads you day by day, all He expects in return is to see that you are truly and sincerely grateful to Him. If you are grateful, God wants you to express it in as many ways as possible, personally and in the presence of other people. You may praise God in the company of God's people for their encouragement and confidence to keep on trusting in the promises of God. You may also testify to the faithfulness of God in the company of people who do not know God personally in their lives, so that it will be a challenge for them to take the right steps to get to know and trust in this Lord. Those of us who have experienced this absolutely faithful Lord in our lives several times should turn out to lead a life of thankful praise and our expression of gratitude ought to be the best advertisement for the faithfulness of God. We do not need to be embarrassed about praising God openly and can follow the example of king David. He had no hesitation to publicly express his emotions to the Lord in the open when the whole of Israel was watching. He never felt loss of dignity because he openly expressed himself before the Lord because he was so deeply moved by the faithfulness of God to him. Let us be challenged today by the zeal with which David praised God and how he used musical support to enhance the power of his expression of thankfulness to the faithfulness to God. God surely saw his heart and commended him because he was a man after God's own heart.
Psalms 71:14 - But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.
Thought for Today
A heart overflowing with gratitude seeks to abound in praise.
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