Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

July 16, 2018

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

“. . . giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:20 (NRSV)

Many years ago, when I was on a spiritual retreat, I had an encounter with God that profoundly changed the course of my life. The particular moment when I sensed God speaking to me, I was in a Chapel service singing the praise song, Give Thanks. That too profoundly changed my life. Since that moment, 99.9% of all of my prayers begin with, “Thank you.” I am sincerely and intentionally implementing Saint Paul’s direction to give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This spiritual discipline is much more substance than it is form. For me, it is the evidence of a perception, a world view that my life does not belong to me. My life belongs to God. By creation and redemption my life belongs to God. My way of praying is also my personal affirmation that I trust that God is working all things together for His good in my life. (Romans 8:28-29)

My faithful Springer Spaniels, Buster Brown and Hershey, model how I want to live my life as a follower of Jesus. On the mornings when Cheryl and I are gathering our gym bags, Buster and Hershey remain at rest in their usual places. They know they are not going with us. Then there are other times during the day when they see me grab my hat and car keys, and I will find them waiting for me by the door to the garage. They don’t have a clue where I am going, and they don’t care; they just want to go with me.

There are times in my life when I sense God wants me to stay put and practice Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!” I am learning to sit quietly and give thanks to God for these special times alone with Abba. Then there are times when I sense God calling me to get up and follow Him. I’ve long ago given up the notion that I need all the specifics of where we are going and what we are going to do. Sometimes I am like Buster, asleep in the back seat of the car, content to be close to his master. Sometimes I am like Hershey, rejoicing as he sticks his nose out of the sunroof. Always, I am delighted to give “thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

My Takeaway: The hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, calls us to “raise my Ebenezer.” That phrase is a reference to when Samuel set up a large stone and named it Ebenezer because the Lord has helped him. (1 Samuel 7:12)  Our Ebenezer’s are monuments in our memories for those times when the Lord has helped us. That moment in the Chapel singing, Give Thanks, and the Lord spoke to me and called me by name is a HUGE Ebenezer in my life.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.