Psalm 7:17 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.
My husband and I recently flew from Pennsylvania to Nashville for a quick visit to see our son and his family. (Have to admit that our14-month old grandson was a big drawing card). We arrived Friday evening with high hopes of smothering that little guy with as many hugs and kisses as we could before our Monday morning flight back home.
But the trip didn’t go quite as expected. By Saturday afternoon, I’d come down with a full-blown cold. Coughs and sneezes replaced all those little hugs and kisses. In fact, I could barely stay awake. So much for connecting!
I had a choice to make. I could either bemoan the situation and slink into self-pity or intentionally choose ways to be grateful. Lord, thank you no one else got my germs. Thank you, I was no longer coughing by the time we boarded our plane. Thank you, we at least got to see everyone in person.
Nothing combats self-pity like a good dose of gratitude.
Do you realize how Satan wants to sabotage our gratitude by luring us to focus on the negatives? He knows (probably more than we do) that gratitude releases power, a power far greater than his. And he will stop at nothing to hinder us from connecting with that power. Every time we resist his temptation and instead trust God to use all things for good (Rom 8:28), we experience the power of the Lord.
In Psalm 7, David cries out to God for deliverance. His enemies have assaulted his integrity and stand ready to tear him apart. Not too much around David to inspire gratefulness. But as he recalls the righteousness of God, gratitude begins to rise. And even though his prayers have not yet been answered, he ends his lament with intentional thanksgiving. “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness.” He remembered God is always worthy of thanks.
So I pray this Thanksgiving, that no matter what’s going on the world around you, that you exercise your gratitude muscles. Don’t let the enemy distract you. Be intentional in looking for good. And choose gratitude.