The Journey to Thankfulness

I would not have considered myself a very thankful person for the better portion of my life. I almost expected good things to happen to me, and when they did not, I was angry, bitter and confused. It is true that the scriptures say that He the Lord desires to give us good gifts, just as we desire to give our own children good gifts, but consider this: How do you feel when you buy your child a toy and at the moment they are ecstatic, but as the day wears on the toy is soon broken or discarded, because the newness of the gift wore off, and it's hard to remember as parents if we were even thanked...

In a nut shell my friends, this is what I have done to my Lord and Savior most of my life. He who bless me with something, and might remember to say thanks, but I would say 80% of the time I would chalk it up to "good luck," or even "chance" that my good fortune came my way. I was not a very thankful person. Things are different today my friends. Things are different. They are different because I see what I never saw before, what I was blinded to, and that is the constant provision of the Lord. I am not talking about the new pair of shoes that I got, (although He did bless me with those) :) but the day to day provision for my hunger (and I'm not talking about stomach hunger), sustenance for my soul and the strength to get up and praise His name...even in the famine.

"In times of disaster they will not wither, in days of famine they will enjoy plenty..." Psalm 37:19

What does that mean exactly, in context, it's David speaking about the times he personally was in, times of physical famine and I also believe with the depth in David's soul, he was also referencing famine of the "good things" that life has to offer.

David experienced times of great blessings in His life, he was after all the prophetic representation of the Christ to come... but David also experienced times of many trials.

And so did Jesus. Jesus, was the most tried figure I can think of. Daily He was mocked, rebuked, disbelieved, and then in the end, tried before the Jews...several times...and then crucified.

My trials look nothing like that. Do yours? However, I am not diminishing the trials we face today, and I have had a definite season of trial...but what I am getting at here, is that even though I have walked through the barren lands, I still felt provided for. I still felt held. There were moments of fear, moments of shivering, crying, and heartache...but even in those hard times, the Lord fed me.

He fed me with His love, His peace, His joy, His constant reassurance that His hand was there guiding me and holding me up. Most of the time I just felt as if He was moving my limbs for me. He was dressing my children, and making them their lunch for me. He was so in my every day life, I honestly know my life would be a heap on the floor without Him. And there is no shame in that.

"I was young, and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken...or their children begging for bread." Psalm 37:25

David again was making a statement here that looks can be deceiving. You may be a pile or heap on the floor, but the streams of life are still flowing through His veins, and the joy comes are we soon are able to raise our heads off of the floor and see that a feast has been spread out before us and the hunger is quenchable. Quenchable only by Him though my friends. The world cannot quench the deep holes we have within us. The answers and understandings of this world leave us more empty then before and we will soon return to our heap. It when I stopped turning to the world for answers that the joy took over. And I arose from my heap on the floor and took steps towards the feast that the Lord has laid out for me. And oh how thankful is my soul.

"THE LORD SETS PRISONERS FREE, THE LORD GIVES SIGHT TO THE BLIND, THE LORD LIFTS THOSE WHO ARE BOWED DOWN, THE LORD LOVES THE RIGHTEOUS. THE LORD WATCHES OVER THE ALIEN AND SUSTAINS THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW, AND HE FRUSTRATES THE WAYS OF THE WICKED. THE LORD REIGNS FOREVER, YOUR GOD, O ZION, FOR ALL GENERATIONS. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!"

Psalm 146:8-10

And David had much more to say in this glorious chapter of that wonderful book of praises...I would encourage you friends, if any of this describes you today, spend some time in the words of David and let the peace of God wash over your soul.

And it is with thankfulness in my heart that each day, I am able to thank Him for things that I never even would have seen a while back. It is with this thankfulness that I can see the good where before, I only saw bad. His lessons, His hands that guide, His words that instruct, His peace that washes a soul, His joy that surpasses anything I could've ever understood, and His glory that is due, are all things that I never would have seen...Had He not grabbed a hold of my heart and shook my little unthankful world up in such way, O what I would have missed.

Learn from my mistakes friend, don't miss this. Don't miss God in all His glory. Don't miss the blessings and the opportunities to thank Him and praise His name. It's our gift. He is our gift and for Him and to Him, I shall be forever thankful. Nothing is expected, and the goodness of His goodness is not missed. What a friend I have in Jesus.