Reasons To Give Thanks ~ Psalm 92

 Today’s Scripture: Psalm 92 & Exodus 34:5-7

Psalm 92 opens with a statement  that immediately grabbed my attention, "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night," (92:1-2)

This psalm couldn't have come at a better time for me, for just as I began to dig deeper into Psalm 92, a super sweet young woman came to me and burst into tears! 

If you were to look at her life, I'm sure you'd concur with me that she had so very much going for her. She was bright, beautiful, had what she considered her dream job, a family that loved and supported her and had found her "prince" that she would like to spend the rest of her life with! What could possibly be wrong with all that, I wondered. 

Fear! 

She was fearful that it would all come crashing down around her. The enemy had convinced her that it was all too good to be true and somehow, someway and at any moment it would all disintegrate.  She was so gripped by fear that she couldn't embrace all the blessings God had given her. Has that ever happened to you? 

My first thought as she was tearfully sharing all of this with me was John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Satan can't stop God from blessing His children, but he can set out to rob us of our joy. 

My second thought was Philippians 4:4-8 say, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Cece's example seemed to me to be the perfect reason why God's word tells us, "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night," (92:1-2) for:

_ Thanksgiving helps us see God. "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights". (James 1:16-17) Giving thanks opens our spiritual eyes. The more we thank Him, the more we see Him working in and around us.

_ Thanksgiving draws us closer to God. It has a way of taking our eyes off of the circumstances around us and placing them on God. We begin to see His hand in everything.

_Thanksgiving creates a heart of peace. "...but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:6-7)

_Thanksgiving brings contentment. ". . . godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these." (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

It’s said that gratitude makes what we have enough.

_ Thanksgiving builds our faith. “I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make Your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, that You have established Your faithfulness in Heaven itself." (Psalm 89:1-2, 8)

Keeping a record of God’s past faithfulness is a faith-booster when we face new difficulty.

_Thanksgiving, particularly when spoken out loud, is good for the soul, and blesses those around us. I can only speak for myself here, but I enjoy being around those who are full of joy and are always accentuating the positives!

 _ Thanksgiving leads to joy. "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:1-3)

_Thanksgiving defies Satan's lies.

_ Thanksgiving is a testimony to all. "Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done." Psalm 105:1

When we thank God openly and acknowledge what He’s done for us, we proclaim a personal, caring God to the world around us. We show that contentment and peace come not from what we have, but Who we know. And finally

_ Thanksgiving can become contagious! I instantly thought of Miriam leading all the women in song and dance before God after the Israelite nation had crossed the Red Sea..

So let me ask you,

• Are you a warrior, or a worrier?
• Do you find it easy to count your blessings and give thanks, or do you find yourself too often focused on the negative?
• How best can you begin today to count your blessing and give Him thanks for everything? (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Let's pray:

O Father, You are indeed great and worthy of all honor, praise and thanksgiving, and now we can see that it is not only for Your benefit that we offer up our thanks, but for us as well. Father, lift up my eyes in ways that keep me focused on You and make my spirit soar. I am extremely grateful for all of Your blessings in my life, Lord. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will remind me of just how blessed I am and that you never allow me to forget to show my gratitude in prayer to You and to others. In Your precious Son's name I pray. Amen

Blessings, 

Sue