{a reason for thanks}

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever!"

Psalm 107:1

We've heard it before, probably over and over again.  It may have become so familiar that we don’t really think about its meaning.  But I encourage you to stop right now and go over it slowly.  Savor each word.  What does it mean?  Do we believe it?  And what are the implications for our everyday lives when we do so?

God is always, only good. And His covenant-keeping, faithful love lasts forever.   

But what about those times when the burdens weigh heavy?  When the diagnosis is bleak?  When the heart is breaking?  What about the times when the money doesn't seem to stretch and the prodigal is afar off and the storm winds are battering down upon your world?

Speak this truth to your heart, dear ones.   Whatever you’re facing,

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever!

Linger in Psalm 107.  All throughout the chapter, we see examples of trouble and desert experiences and sickness and storms.  As Nancy Leigh DeMoss pointed out at the recent True Woman ’14 Conference, the pattern throughout this passage serves as an example for you and me. 

There’s trouble.  We cry out.  God delivers.  We give thanks. 

Oh, we know the very real pain of this broken world.  In His grace, God uses the pain to draw us to Him, for it’s there that we finally realize how desperately we need Him.  And so we cry out (v.6, 13, 19, 28).  Now He may not provide the desired outcome immediately.  He may not change our circumstances.  But we keep crying out, for in so doing, God will be changing us, bringing about the real deliverance we need.  He alone is our desired haven (v. 30), not a different set of circumstances.   God will always deliver in a way that brings Him the most glory and makes us most like Him.  And our response?  Hearts spilling forth with thanksgiving…

“Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,

for His wondrous works to the children of man!”

Psalm 107:8 (15, 21, 31)

“A soul redeemed demands a life of praise.” 

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss