When “Thank You” Isn’t Enough
What does a grateful heart look like?
Verse of the Day
‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.’
Today’s Devotional
King David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to its rightful home, the tabernacle. As part of the celebration, David wrote a song to commemorate all that God was doing. That’s where today’s verse comes from.
Do you ever feel like saying “thank you” isn’t quite enough? I do. When someone is especially kind to me, the words “thank you” don’t seem to capture how grateful I am. I feel that way about God, too. When I’m in the right frame of mind, and I’m focused on how much God has done for me, sometimes my words don’t seem to do justice. I don’t think God cares about that, though. I think God wants a grateful heart more than grateful words.
Because God is good, and because his love is faithful, and because his love endures forever…we have a lot to be grateful for. It’s easier, though, to be grateful in pleasant times. In difficult times, gratitude must be a conscious choice, one that can be difficult to make.
Fortunately, David gives the Israelites (and us) several suggestions in this chapter of 1 Chronicles about how to praise and glorify God. These actions describe what a grateful heart looks like.
-Give thanks directly to the Lord. (v.8) This one is pretty self explanatory, but I find it more powerful to write down my thanks to God and to be specific.
-Make God’s greatness known among the nations. (v.8) Do you ever tell other people about something great that God has done for you? Do you share with others that small kindnesses that God has done in your life?
-Sing to God. (v.9) This one is easy to do in church, but do you ever just sing to an audience of One while in your car, or during your quiet time, or while you’re at home doing…whatever?
-Tell of his wonderful acts. (v.9) This one is a lot like “make known”. However, one feels more like a proclamation, and this direction feels more like a casual conversation that you might have any day. How often do you talk about what God is doing in your life? Perhaps if we talked about what God is doing more than we talked about what other humans are doing, more people would be focused on God.
-Glory in his name. (v.10) Ok, I’ll admit that this one is hard for me to understand, much less explain. I think this is like the line from the Lord’s Prayer when Jesus says “Hallowed be your name.” Sometimes we need to tell God and ourselves just how great God is. I need to describe him. I need to revel in the God-ness of God.
-Seek the Lord. (v.10) Ask God for guidance, which assumes that you need his help. Prioritize spending time with him. Read the Word. Look for evidence of God all throughout your day.
-Remember the wonders that God has done. (v.12) This is one of my favorites. One of the best ways for me to strengthen my faith today is to look back at how God has shown up in the past. This is a great reason to keep a journal. Personally, I can forget almost anything I don’t write down.
So today, in whatever way you choose, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you express to God your thanks for His goodness and faithfulness?
How can you give thanks to God? What are you thankful for?
How can you proclaim God’s greatness?
Are you willing to sing to God?
Who can you talk to today about something God has done recently in your life?
How can you describe your understanding of the God-ness of God?
How can you seek the Lord today?
What has God done for you in the past that you need to remember today?