Thanks

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. Psalm 7:17

Be thankful!  When you hear these words maybe you are like me and immediately begin thinking of the “stuff” of life that we should be thankful for.  This then takes my mind to a place where I start to think of what I don’t have, and soon any posture of thankfulness has quickly been chased off.  In this Psalm David has called on God to take action against David’s enemies and put an end to the wickedness that plaguing him.  At the very end of David’s song when he utters thankfulness it would be natural to assume that David’s thankfulness is based on God’s response to David’s call for action.  It would make perfect sense that David is thankful because God has done what David has asked Him to do.  David cries out to God, God responds in the way David desires, so David offers a thankful heart to God.  This formula just seems to make perfect sense.  

    It makes so much sense that this is how thankfulness typically works for us as well.  We ask God for something, we receive what we ask for and then hopefully we thank Him for giving what we asked for.  I say “hopefully,” because I know that often I fail to even thank God for those things he does graciously give after I have petitioned Him for them.  This formula, though, of asking, receiving and thanking is not what David’s thankfulness is based on in this Psalm.  David writes, “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, Most High.”  David’s thanksgiving is directed at who God is, His character.  Because God is God, David is going to give thanks regardless if his petitions are answered the way he would like.  God is worthy of thanksgiving and praise simply because He is God.  This was enough for David and it must be enough for us.  Let us continue to make our pleas and petitions known to God and let us offer thanksgiving and praise when He answers…but, let us not base our thanksgiving and praise on what God gives or doesn’t give.  Let us not withhold our thanksgiving if God withholds answers or things we think we need.  Let our praise and thanksgiving be based primarily on who God is, understanding that He alone is enough.  May we believe, Church, that by God giving us the gift of Himself we have already been given the best of all gifts and all that we truly need, and may this be enough to stir our affection, thanksgiving and praise to a Holy God!  

PRAYER OF THE DAY: God, thank you that You alone are God.  I thank you for Your righteousness.  I give You praise for who You are!