Reasons for Thanks

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

When you gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, do you take time to share with one another the reasons you are thankful?  We have followed this practice now for a number of years as 12-20 folks gather at our home.  Most of those people are family, but we also have some folks from church that join us too.  If someone asked why you are thankful, what would YOU reply?

 

One of my favorite Psalms (I have trouble picking one Psalm) is Psalm 103.  This wonderful Psalm about the grace and forgiveness of God seems to begin with a list of reasons for thanks.  Please look with me with me at the first five verses of this Psalm of David.

 

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 

Do you see David’s list in these verses?  After words of praise David where reminds himself not to forget to give the Lord thanks, he shares the things for which he is thankful

 

First, David is thankful for forgiveness.  David was one of the most faithful of the Old Testament kings.  But in Psalm 32 David also describes the physical and spiritual agony of carrying guilt.  David had come to know God as the Lord who mercifully forgave him.  No wonder David is thankful for forgiveness.  It is worth noting that forgiveness is the first reason David mentions for giving thanks!

 

Next, David is thankful for healing.  This doesn’t mean that David did not ultimately die.  He did.  But, David recognized the hand of God in past healings.  Last Sunday at St. John we were asked to pray for a member’s granddaughter who was deathly ill.  On Wednesday we heard the granddaughter had been to the doctor and was better.  We are thankful for doctors and medicine . . . and we are also thankful for the healing hand of God.

 

David is next thankful to be “redeemed from the pit.”  Redemption is the act of paying for something, or buying it back.  David knows that God has redeemed him from death.  God bought David back from the grave.  God redeemed David from the pit.   (The pit is often a Biblical description of hell.)  David knows God has redemption in his future.  In fact, God’s plans for David include eternal joy in God’s presence.  Christians know this redemption ultimately comes to us through Jesus.  No wonder Peter quotes Psalm 16 on Pentecost Day as He tells the people of Jerusalem about the risen Jesus.  We might think redemption would be David’s first reason for thanks, but it is not.  Nevertheless, David adds redemption to the list of things for which he is thankful.

 

Next on David’s list of reasons for thanks is that he knows God has “crowned his life with love and compassion.”  This love David experiences is the love of God which caused Him to send His Son to save the whole world.  But, love and compassion of family and friends, and even of strangers, are also gifts from God that bless our lives.  I personally grow more and more amazed at the blessings love and compassion God has given me in family!  What a great reason for thanks!

 

Finally, David gives thanks for material things.  God satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.  In other words, by His mercy God provides good things, material blessings, that make life pleasant.  This might be food, or homes, or clothes, or whatever makes our lives pleasant as we serve the Lord.  Thank you Lord, for these gifts!

 

There are two things about David’s list that strike me personally as a child of God.  First of all, most of the gifts for which David is thankful are spiritual gifts rather than material gifts.  That fact reflects the Lord’s Prayer as well, in which Jesus teaches us to pray for spiritual gifts for His family in 6 of the petitions or requests, and to ask for material needs in only one petition.  Maybe this should teach us about our lists and our prayers to God as well.

 

In addition, every time I meditate on these words of truth from Psalm 103, I too am overwhelmed with how God has blessed me.  I want to make sure I do not forget to give Him thanks and praise.  I want to make sure that I worship Him and serve Him in all my life, because everything I have comes from Him.

 

This year I expect we will again go around the table at our Thanksgiving feast and let people share their reasons for thanks.  But, I think this year instead of just one reason, maybe we can share two reasons for thanks, a spiritual blessing and a material or physical blessing.

 

God is Good!  Thanksgiving blessings to each of you!

 

A Child of God, THANKFUL for the blessings and benefits of our Lord,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  I am feeling especially thankful this year for “family”.  I am thankful for God’s family, the church.  I am thankful for my immediate and extended family.  I am blessed.    Thanks be to God!

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am regularly adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.

 

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