As Thanksgiving is approaching, I’m reminded of the importance of showing gratitude and specifically of directing that gratitude toward God for the many blessings He has given us, both material and spiritual. A couple of weeks ago, during my daily time in the Bible, I read Psalm 105 and was struck by the opening verses that find their echo in so many other passages of Scripture:
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make
known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
(Psalm 105:1-2, ESV)
Note the connection between giving thanks to God and communicating
the goodness of “his deeds” and “his wondrous works” to others. Reading this
passage gives us the sense that the two actions go hand in hand. As I read
these verses, I was reminded of one of my Sunday School teachers from high
school. At the time, I was a member of a megachurch with an incredibly large
youth group. There were several Sunday School classes for each age group, and
we stayed in the same class for two years. So for my freshman and sophomore
years of high school, I sat under the teaching of Mrs. Barham.
Each week before we got into the lesson, she would ask us
how we had seen God at work during the previous week. It could be something we
had seen in our own lives or in the lives of someone we knew. For a while not
many, if any, of us were able to answer. But she kept asking, week after week,
and eventually we started to pay attention and were able to share things that
we had noticed, whether they were answers to prayer, provision of courage or
peace in a certain situation, or something else, big or small.
Through Mrs. Barham’s persistence, we began to have our
antennas up, as she would say, so that we were alert and watchful, anticipating
seeing God work in some way throughout the week. After all, He is always at
work; we only have to be looking and have our receivers tuned to the station of
His Spirit. And by keeping the eyes of our face and our spirit open, we will
find that we have much more to be thankful for as we see more and more of how
God is protecting, providing for, and sustaining us and how He is moving in the
lives of those around us.
This attentiveness doesn’t stop with our internal
recognition of God’s goodness, though. Just as Mrs. Barham had us share with
the class the ways in which we had seen God work, so the Psalmist calls us to
share our observations with others. This second step can be considered
Gratitude 2.0, where instead of merely thanking God privately (which is still
important to do), we go a step further and broadcast our gratitude “among the
peoples.” In doing so, we not only continue to ponder God’s goodness in our own
hearts, but also we spread the gratitude around, allowing other people to join
in the offering of thanksgiving. And in the process, God receives more and more
glory, as He is praised not only in our hearts but through our mouths and in
the hearts of others as well.
Another added benefit of upgrading your practice of
gratitude to Gratitude 2.0 is that God could use your stories of seeing Him
work to encourage others who are going through a season of fog. Maybe someone
you know is having difficulty seeing God’s hand in their lives. Maybe they feel
that He has forgotten about them. Maybe they’re having a hard time “tuning in”
to the right station to be able to pick up a “clear signal” and are missing all
the ways in which God is at work. Hearing your testimony of how you have
seen God at work could be the tool that God uses to remind them of His goodness
and grace. And there again, God’s glory will be magnified, which is the most
important result of all.
So today I’d like to challenge you, as Mrs. Barham challenged
me, to be watching, be aware, be attentive to God’s work in your life and in
the world around you. If you’ve seen God move in some way this week, share in
the comments below. Both things big and small are worthy of giving thanks for.
And if you haven’t been watching, start today. Give yourself a week of
intentionally paying attention; then come back and let us know in the comments
what you’ve seen.
May we all continue to cultivate an awareness of God’s work,
to give thanks to Him with our minds and in our hearts, and to share the
accounts of His goodness with our family of faith and the watching world.
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