Focus on Faith: With a prayer of thanksgiving
A prayer that children are often taught says this, "God is good, God is great. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hand we are fed, give us Lord our daily bread". It is a simple prayer and a prayer of thanksgiving. We teach it to our kids, but do we apply it to our lives? Let me give you some things from this prayer that we can be thankful for.
God is good-Psalm 107.1,"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." God is good because of His mercy. I thank God for His mercy. What is God's mercy? First of all, I think about His mercy for us by leaving Heaven and all of its glory to come to this earth and give His life freely for you and for me. Romans 5.8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." While we were still sinners! God in His mercy gave us a gift of His only son to pay the price that was ours to pay. That is mercy! God is good for His mercy. We should thank Him for His mercy.
God is good for His grace! What is God's grace? Grace and mercy go hand in hand. But when I think of God's grace, I think about how He is always ready to restore our relationship with Him. We sin and we sever that relationship. 1 John 1.9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That's grace. We in our minds may have the mindset of "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me". We don't have a very forgiving spirit. But we need to thank God for His forgiving grace.
God is great-So what makes God so great? Jeremiah 32.17 states, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You." The same God who created the heavens and the earth is the same God who can create in you a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5.17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." The God who made the lame to walk, the blind to see, is the same God that can heal you today. The same God that caused each one of the plagues and parted the Red Sea to free the Children of Israel free from their bondage is the same God who can free you from your bondages as well. The same God who walked on the water and calmed the sea is the same God who can calm the storms in your life as well. God is not just a good God, He is a great God! He is able to do whatever He pleases. We should thank Him for His greatness that makes Him able to do the things He does for us for His glory.
God deserves thanks-Ephesians 5.20, "...giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Always for all things. Always means all the time. All things would mean the good times as well as the bad. It's easy to thank God in the good times. But it's when we have those times that are not so good, and we are still expected to give thanks?
How can we give thanks in those bad times? We can because we know that God can use whatever circumstances we are in at the time for His glory and our benefit. 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
If you are reading this and have never entered into a personal relationship with Him, be thankful you still have the breath in your lungs to do so. Why don't you accept Him today? He is a great God, able to give you the power to overcome anything that would prevent you from doing so today. He deserves our thanks, because of what He has done for each and every one of us. He gives us everything.
