Thankful and Grateful

So here it is; the last Sunday of 2021. If your year has been anything like mine, you may be sitting there thinking, "What even WAS that!!??" Crazy times for sure!! Personally, I found love again, lost a dear friend too young, gained a son-in-law, and, most recently, a new laptop. Continued prayers for all of these are greatly appreciated.

Yesterday was Christmas. For me and Rob, it was a quiet day with my parents coming around noon, opening a few presents, sharing a simple meal, video chatting with my daughters, texting my son, and sending Rob off to serve supper to the elderly residents at his work. But we all anticipate and experience Christmas in different ways as well. My ex-boyfriend is pretty much alone out in the Midwest. The only thing he was happy about yesterday was going to the bar with a few friends at suppertime. Other than that, he spend the day bitter and alone, drinking. Rob and I messaged him and I tried to call, but he only responded in drunken frustration of facing the rest of his life alone. Praying for him as well.

We spend a lot of time either anticipating or dreading things. We have certain expectations toward the events in our lives. We are filled with either excitement or anxiety. Then the day comes or the moment is here and they both pass either meeting our expectations, exceeding them, or disappointing us. The question is this: how do we respond?? If things go well do we just say, "Thank God!!" and move on to the next thing?? If things go badly do we wrestle with thanking Him?? Today's passage opens with a reminder to give thanks to God, and continues with thanks for specific things. It's like a "thank-you note" written (or emailed) to a family member or friend for the special gift they gave. How much more does God deserve our thanks for specific things!? The "note" in today's passage was written by David. Let's read it together --

Psalm 118 New International Version

Psalm 118 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.” 5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. 6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. 13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my defense[a]; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.[b] 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up[c] to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever

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Long, I know, but we're focusing on just the first verse, don't worry!! lol

Pastor Matt didn't give us the context here, but I just looked it up and all indication points to David having written it shortly after his coronation as King of Israel. Even in his moment of personal glory; he is giving specific thanks to God for all He has done and will do for him in the future. I posed the question above; how often do we just "cruise past" good moments with a generic "nod in God's direction" as it were?? We say, "Thank God that's over!!" or "Praise God, our team won!!" or what have you... And we go on with our lives... All of this may be well and good, but it really isn't enough to cultivate a true spirit of gratitude and thankfulness. Take a moment and review the year. Think of both the good and the bad. What stands out?? Pause and give God specific praise for all He has done and seen you through.

"Give thanks to the Lord..." this instruction is our starter. Our reminder to focus on God as the object of our praise. Not ourselves, not others, although it's good to recognize their efforts; but the most important thing is to recognize God's hand in everything. He's the one who created us after all. Every talent and ability we have comes from Him*.

With the 2nd phrase comes the "Why??" The overwhelming truth brought out not only in this Psalm, but throughout The Bible, and even throughout history is clear: God is good!! Even with all the chaos around us, God is good!! If you need a solid, physical object to look at as a focal point for your praise, then Jesus is your answer. His Holy Spirit guides our thoughts and actions here on Earth.

I mentioned above about the differences in yesterday's Christmas experiences between myself and my ex-boyfriend. My point in doing so is this: We cannot allow our situations to dictate our views of God. Rob's and mine was good. My ex-bf, not so much.

We all have our "perfect picture" of how things should be. That is how we determine what "good" looks like, or should look in our lives. We see something that matches our image, or comes really close, and we think, "all is as it should be". Or "all is right with the world" (at least our "World" in that moment)... What we need to remember is that God Created everything and called it "good". He has held nothing back. I know we sometimes struggle with that idea due to all the chaos in our World and/or in our lives. But it's the truth. God's fullness and completeness give Him the power to bring that fullness to us. God sent Jesus as the perfect fullness of His love for us. No matter what things look like, He is always working for our good.

Sometimes we may wonder if proclaiming God's goodness in the midst of trouble and pain may be hypocritical. After all, we aren't feeling that He's good in those moments. The truth is, we are not being hypocritical at all. We are simply recognizing God's goodness in the bigger picture and maybe fighting through to do it; but in the end, it's the most powerful thing we can do. Both for ourselves and for those around us. It reminds us that God is still in charge despite our current pain and struggles. It's proof of our steadfast faith in His steadfast love.

The third phrase is an ongoing thought to sustain us. "His love endures forever!!" His goodness flows from his innate nature of love. It originally flowed to the people of Israel to be passed on to the World. When He saw that that wouldn't work, He extended His reach to the World by sending Jesus. He couldn't fail. He was/is perfect. He simply cannot be otherwise. Someone who has never been created can only be perfect. We make crafts or buy them from people more talented in that way, we even make babies so we have more people to love, but none of us is perfect because we ourselves, were created by Another Artist/Father*. The Nation of Israel was gathered and chosen because they were just a small, insignificant portion of the World. That sounds oddly familiar doesn't it?? How small and insignificant are each one of us in the scheme of things*?? As believers, we are all drawn into the Body of Christ to be ambassadors of God to the World*. We may or may not ever see the results of our faith in this life; but that doesn't make it any less important.

I said above that God's goodness is an overwhelming truth. Here's another: Nothing can thwart God's love!! No hardship, no illness, no depression, no rebellious attitude. His Name is above everything*. As we know from personal experiences, love is not always about the "warm-fuzzies" every single second. Sometimes love feels harsh or difficult. Those of us with kids understand this perfectly. Those without understand it from your parents or whomever it was who raised you. Not every moment was what we'd consider "amazing", right?? We had disagreements and discipline. But you know what never left?? Love. (at least I sincerely hope not) As a divorcee, I can tell you that people may grow apart and disagree, but they can still agree to care even as separate lives continue. As a parent, I can tell you that my kids required discipline, but it was because we cared about their well-being in the long run. Those moments were hard, but the love was there to get us not only to it, but through it*. The same goes for God's love for us. Some moments may feel harder than others, but if we remember that God has our best interests at heart, we can have confidence that all will be well.* That gives us the freedom in which to live our lives at peace as we look to Him in gratitude and thankfulness.

Rather than having anxiety over an uncertain future, we can live in the exciting anticipation of what God will do next!! As it says further down in our passage, thankfulness is the gate to praise and Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!! Let's remember that as the gate opens to the New Year!! -- God Bless!!

Footnotes --

Ability from God - Deuteronomy 8:18
Thoughts about how someone not created, but being The Creator inspired by C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" -- I'm almost done. If you haven't read it, you should!!
Thoughts of our personal insignificance bring to mind the Christmas Classic, "It's A Wonderful Life!" Although we may not be significant to the World as a whole, we are certainly significant to those around us, and by extension, those around them. The point lies in our humble recognition of God and thankfulness to His goodness for the opportunity to influence others for Him.
"Drawn into the Body of Christ" -- the "side-story" here came from one of our Elders/Youth Leaders near the beginning of the Service. He shared about reconnecting with a former student and his friend at a Fall Retreat a few months back. He and his wife knew this young man from his time in their 8th Grade Youth Group. At the Retreat, this guy shared how he and his friend discovered other Youth Groups around Concord that met on different nights, and attended all of them. He has since become a Youth Leader, and is looking to go to school for full time ministry!! We never know what our influence will do!!
Name above all Names -- Philippians 2:9
Not only getting to love, but through it -- Holly Dunn, "Daddy's Hands" I have no rights on this -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR-1ggqyEIE
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." -- Julian of Norwich (quote introduced to me from a former pastor) I've made it my motto!! That being said, I'm not a fan of Catholicism as a denomination, but they have some good "nuggets" here and there...