THANKSGIVING

Psalm 107 is all about thankfulness. Very specifically Psalm 107 repeats one verse four different times.

"O, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men."
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Praise and gratitude are inseparable. Praise starts from the soles of our feet and comes up through the muscles and sinews and joints and organs of our bodies and it bursts from our throat. It’s with all our hearts that we give God thanks. It is not something shallow or frivolous, flippant or superficial. Gratitude is the deepest expression of the soul in love with God. And he says, "With all my heart I give You thanks."

The original meaning of praise was "to give public acknowledgement." It's the thought of telling others about something that means much to us. Not the normal term for giving thanks.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not negative on gratitude. What really bugs me, though, is when people express their gratitude today, late in November and then return to their self-centered, dissatisfied, hopeless and pathetic outlook on life the other 364 days.

Gratitude is more than an annual ritual performed hastily before diving into the Thanksgiving meal. It's more than a holiday decoration, more than a snappy word that rhymes with "attitude." Of all the human emotions, gratitude is the most powerful. So powerful is gratitude, it can obliterate fear, hopelessness and doubt. Gratitude can heal a broken heart, slow the aging process and restore broken relationships. Gratitude creates hope and hope brings joy. It is in joy, not fear, that we find strength.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his

steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the

Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and

gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the

west, from the north and from the south… He led them by

a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let

them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous

works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing

soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things."

Psalm 107:1-9

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!

DAWN