Daily Devotional

Thankfulness is a powerful and sacred thing, and yet I see it becoming more and more foreign in our culture. We now do transactions, as if hiring someone with money, replaces the need for character or healthy friendship. I notice this a cause and effect pattern when we spend years and even decades where our norms are: running water, air conditioning, and commercials telling us “we are worth it,” that this sacred biblical posture of gratitude can soon be eroded and substituted by self-focused expectations. When we are bombarded by arrogant thoughts that “I deserve this,” “I’m an American,” etc, it subtly mutes the truth of God‘s word that we are simply purchased bond slaves that have been forgiven an unpayable debt, that we could never pay ourselves.

You see, when you realize you’re desperately poor and needy, and someone comes along that you don’t know, cleans you, clothes you and puts a signet ring on your finger, gratitude is the natural explosion out of your heart. But when we lose sight of who we were without Jesus, our sinful hearts take advantage of the many blessings all around us while living in a 1st world country, and soon demand typical treatment such as the pharaohs of old, to be our daily minimum requirement. We replace thankful hearts with expectation to be at the front of the line, at all times.

This precious passage in Psalm 50 not only reminds us that we can honor God with thanksgiving, but sometimes it is a genuine sacrifice. Your heart may be aching, those around you may have more than you etc.… But a “thank offering” still honors God.

So take a minute today, in light of the fact that we’ve been rescued by Jesus as a poor helpless sinners, and evaluate what you have to be thankful for, even if it feels like a sacrifice to do so. The truth is people of God, we are rich beyond our wildest imaginations, we have an inheritance they can never spoil or fade, and our Savior is worthy of all the glory!

Let’s make gratitude our new norm and then model and teach it to our children. And let’s do so until we stick out like a beautiful sore thumb in the world that is inward and lost, so they soon ask us what in the world would make us so thankful!

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.