THANKFUL HEARTS (1)

“I WILL PRAISE YOU, O Lord, with MY WHOLE HEART; I will tell of all Your marvelous works” – Psalm 9:1

King David, the Psalmist consistently demonstrated the Power of a Grateful and THANKFUL HEART: “I WILL PRAISE YOU, O Lord, with MY WHOLE HEART; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Psa.9:1-2). To be thankful from our hearts matters a great deal to God, especially when we consider all His marvellous works. David depicts such times in life when it’s easy to be thankful: When everything seems to be going well – enough resources to meet our needs, our health is good, our relationships are enjoyable and mutually enriching, and we’re victorious in life.

David seemed to be feeling on top of the world when he wrote this Psalm, the rest of which went on to describe why he was so thankful and eager to tell others what God had done; why he was delighting in God and singing His praise. God had given him victory over his enemies and over the wicked. He praised the Lord for being trustworthy; a stronghold for the oppressed; the God who doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted. He said in verses 9 and 10, “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalm 9:1-2 illustrate how being thankful heightens the enjoyment of the good seasons in life. David portrayed a personal faith in the living God as the Source of his joys and blessings. In a good season in life, it was the most natural thing in the world for him to “give thanks to the LORD,” and to do so with his “whole heart.” Thanksgiving is no halfway, lukewarm emotion. It’s a nothing-held-back, no-reservation, fist-pumping, hand-clapping, full-body-gestures kind of thing. When we’re thankful we can’t keep it to our self, we need to tell someone. David’s words reflected his awesome experience of joy and a heart overflowing with thanks.

Being thankful in the good seasons of life reminds us to enjoy the moment, knowing that life isn’t always like this. Sweet seasons and times don’t stay around 365 days a year. So, when we’re in one, it’s wise to enjoy it, share it, be glad in it, and sing grateful praise to God. The enjoyment, relishing, sharing, telling, singing, and praising all heighten the enjoyment and help to cement them in our memory and heart so that in the difficult, heart-breaking seasons in life, we have a reservoir of pleasant memories, experience, and faith to help see us through. Being thankful provides strength to make it through the tough times and difficult seasons of life. 

Whether we are thankful or not is essentially a function of our Attitude. It’s like a pair of glasses that we choose to put on through which we see life. We can put on our Gratitude Glasses, or we can abandon them on our bedside table when we get up in the morning. But, imbibing an Attitude of Gratitude makes a vast difference in everything we see and experience. Yet, no matter how strong our faith or how intentionally we seek to practice the discipline of thankfulness, there will be moments of discouragement and disappointment. When we’re in those challenging seasons of life, practicing the discipline of being thankful actually helps us to persevere through them and ultimately conquer.

Being thankful is divinely designed to be part of the Believer’s daily life: ^“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1The.5:18). When we cultivate thankful hearts through active meditation in God’s Word, communion with the Holy Spirit, and daily practice of the Attitude of Gratitude, we would experience immeasurable benefits. That’s why the Bible is filled with verses encouraging us to be thankful and to express thanks. The words “thank, thankful, and thanksgiving” abound in the scriptures!