“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” Psalm 95:1-3
Devotional Thought For The Day
Thanksgiving has always been an extremely important part of genuine piety, godliness, and spiritual health. In the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, sacrifices of thanksgiving were important. If a person knows God as He truly is, His love and goodness, and all the blessings He pours out upon us, he cannot help but be moved to thanksgiving. Thanksgiving that is based in genuine gratitude to God for His love is the first response in a child of God’s heart. Such offerings of thanksgiving are like our first handshake of peace with God, or our first kiss of friendship and love. Since God is love, nothing could be more satisfying, endearing, and fulfilling to Him. Our thanksgiving to God, and offerings made in gratefulness to God, are our first expressions of our love for Him. Chief among the gifts of God are His gracious forgiveness and mercy, how He has taken away our sin and guilt and punishment in the sacrifice which He made of His own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Without this there is no basis for human life – all have sinned and the wages of sin is death, physical and eternal death.
Now, there are many people who give “thanksgiving” to God in a superficial, hypocritical, and deceitful manner. Their “thanksgiving” is calculated to pay God back, or to insure that He not become angry with them, or as an obligation to secure His continued blessings, or worse, merely to give the impression to others that they are pious. In reality, they are somewhat miffed and angry that God would expect anything back from them after He has made them “earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.” [Gen. 3:19] Their focus is on the “thorns and thistles” that God imposes upon creation which impedes their work. They feel that thanksgiving should belong to them not God, since it was their work, labor, determination, ambition, and ingenuity that produced what they have. Such was the sacrificial offering of Cain [Gen. 4], as evidenced by his subsequent behavior. Such offerings and thanksgiving to God are worthless; they are an offense and insult to God. Sadly, those who offer them lack any genuine relationship of love with God. They have rejected His love, rejected Him as God, and insist upon living in darkness and spiritual death.
The same is true of those who have no compulsion to give thanks to God, people who are just too busy or distracted to “sing to the LORD,” to “make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation,” to “come into His presence with thanksgiving,” and to “make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!” Apparently they remain unaware that He is “a great God, and a great King above all gods.” They demonstrate their ignorance of God, Who He is and what He has done for us. Sadly, even within the church, there are many who feel little gratitude to God. Eventually, what gratitude they might have once had erodes away completely – as evidenced by their disinterest in worshiping and praising God. In this their hypocrisy is exposed and it becomes evident that they are not really children of God at all, for at the heart of relationship with God is receiving His love, His blessings, and His gifts, especially His gift of salvation received by faith, and expressing our love for Him in thanksgiving and worship – within the fellowship of His saints, as He has instructed us.
We might want to think about this whole matter of thanksgiving to God more carefully, and recognize how central it is to our life of faith and our relationship with God. We might also want to consider the effect that ingratitude has on our relationship with God, and what it portends for our behavior and our future. It is never a matter of earning something or avoiding something or merely fulfilling some duty; rather it is always a matter of love, receiving the blessings God freely bestows upon us and in love offering Him our heartfelt gratitude, a handshake and kiss of love in the praise and worship we render to Him. If we truly know and believe the love that God has for us, we will resonate with the same eagerness for worship expressed by the psalmist. God grant such true and genuine blessedness to each of us – to have such thankfulness to God!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, how can we not offer You our eternal thanks and praise for what You have done for us, and the blessings that are ours in Your salvation! Add to that all of the blessings we enjoy in this earthly life and it is apparent that our whole lives should be thanksgiving and praise to You. Thank You for Your ongoing forgiveness, patience, and love. Lead us ever more deeply into Your love that we grow each day in gratitude. May we relish the privilege of singing Your praise tomorrow and every day! Amen.