Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Well, it was just last week that we celebrated Thanksgiving Day and on Sunday, I was speaking to a brother in the LORD and I asked him how his holiday was.  He said, “it was great, good food, fun and fellowship but it was too short.”  I replied to him by saying, “well thanksgiving is as long or short as you make it”.  I have been thinking about how truly thankful am I, really?  Do I always give thanks like the Apostle Paul tells us to in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This is a perplexing thing for us isn’t it.  What about those times when trouble comes, like bad news about a family member who is struggling with an addiction, financial woes, loss of job, etc.  What about health issues?  Death?  Life?  Work issues, relational tensions, race relations, etc.  Are we to give thanks in ALL those circumstances?

Many of you know my wife Ellen, she has diabetes and her illness is not very kind to her.  The LORD delivered her from death a couple of years ago, which I am very thankful for but she still has daily battles with her health.  She has been battling with some type of bacterial thing for the past year + which causes the skin in her mouth to peel and every now and then she gets these little bumps on her throat.  It is a daily nuisance with her mouth just like her diabetes is a daily thing that never leaves.  She learn a few weeks ago, that she now has a tear in her tendon at the hip and might have to have surgery.  I said “might” because there was a day scheduled for surgery, but last week we went to asked the doctor some questions and because she had been having some pain in her back, he wanted to xray the back and they discovered now she has some arthritis in her back which could be causing a pinch nerve which may have cause the tear in the hip.  Give thanks, why?  For the LORD is good and His love endures forever.

It really is easy for me to say that I give thanks but when moments like these happen, I must confess that my first response is not to give thanks.  Giving thanks is a choice that I must make and when I do come around (usually takes a little time) I see that His goodness has been extended to us in ways that would have been nearly unknown had we not experienced the giving of thanks in every circumstance.  I am choosing today to extend thanksgiving by at least another day, I am choosing to give thanks to the LORD for his mercies (many of them) are new everyday and Great is His faithfulness to us.  I love the LORD because he first loved me.

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks, because He has given Jesus Christ, His Son, give thanks, with a grateful heart, give thanks, to the Holy One.

Let the poor, say that I am rich, because of what the LORD has done

Let the weak, say that I am strong, because of what the LORD has done.

Give thanks….. Give thanks.

Will you join me in extending the thanksgiving holiday and choose each day to give thanks regardless of the circumstance(s) that you find yourself in?  Thank you for standing in the gap with us even in our difficult times.  Have a great week. – Doug Barger is a dear brother and serves as Director of Men’s Ministries at Bethesda Mission. You can write to him @ dbarger2030@comcast.net

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1-5

Think About This: Satan wants to destroy our faith in God. God wants to destroy our faith in ourselves. —John Kimbell

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands. Psalm 119:143