Worship II Day 8 Overflowing Heart

Psalm 19
Psalm 104
John 17:20-23
Romans 5:12-17
Colossians 1:16-17

Give thanks!
Have an Attitude of Gratitude!
Count your Blessings!

We see these short comments of thanksgiving everywhere, spilling onto journals, tote-bags, books, cards, home décor and more.  There’s nothing plainly wrong with the commercial use of these phrases.  I know I need visual correctives for my ever-wandering heart.  Could it be, though, in our culture of short, pithy, decorative statements, we’re quick to gulp down the words without processing their weight and worth?
Do we pause to consider what true thanksgiving is and where it comes from?

I ask this because I recognize I’m not able to simply make myself more thankful.  I can’t muster it up, (for long). I can’t just put on gratitude like I throw one of those tote-bags over my shoulder.  I’m not able, and you’re not either.

And yet, God’s will is for us to give thanks in all circumstances (I Thess 5:18).
God always supplies what we need to obey what He’s commanded,
so how do we reconcile this tension?

Consider that, just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7),
the soul rooted in humility is the beginning of thanksgiving.

Andrew Murray, in his book Humility, explains,
“Humility comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all…..humility is simply acknowledging the truth of man’s position as creature, and yielding to God in His place.”

How do we see that God is truly all, and all has come from Him?

HIS GIFT OF EARTH’S BEAUTY
The Nineteenth century hymn-writer Folliot Pierpoint helps us as he reflected on the gifts God has generously given.  Pierpoint was one day walking through the countryside admiring God’s creation. He was so overcome by God’s glory revealed that it inspired him to write the beautiful hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth.

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise. 

For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light,
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise. 

King David captured the same response to God’s gift of earthly beauty in Psalm 19:1-6 when he spoke of all the earth declares about God.  Both of these men saw God’s glory-revealing gift of creation, and it produced a humility of position before their Maker, which in turn produced the only possible response: praise and thanks to the One from which it all came.

When was the last time you took in creation simply to see,
wonder at, and give thanks for it?  

HIS GIFTS TO THE CHURCH
God has also lavished the church with His good gifts. Humans were never meant to live alone. God designed us for community from the beginning (Genesis 2:18).  Sharing our lives with and encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ brings us nearer to God (Proverbs 27:17).  Just as the Godhead Trinity gives us a beautiful picture of unity, submission, and community, so God gifts us with the same unified relationships as we submit to Him (John 17:20-23). Pierpoint continued on to speak of these relationships in the following verse:

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild,
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise. 

Seeing God’s glory revealed through His people, though imperfect, helps us rightly give praise to Him for the gift that these fellow souls are.
Could this “seeing” be the end of biting comments, critical spirits and petty arguments?  Could seeing the gift of God’s grace covering our imperfect relationships, give us praise-producing humility?
Let’s allow Jesus’ pleading-prayer for us to be a reality
and we’ll praise Him for what He’ll do!

HIS BEST GIFT DIVINE
“For God so loved the world that He gave….” (John 3:16).  He gave, He gave, He gave.  The most precious gift God gave was His only Son, Jesus Christ.  This incredible gift ushered in a thousand more. Pierpoint rightly placed the climax of his reflection and praise for Christ Himself in the final verse of his hymn:

For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God’s grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise. 

Romans 5:12-17 rightly shows us the despair of our sin without Christ.  Our position is one of hopelessness, need, and inability because of the death that began reigning through the first man. Seeing the reality of this humble state of our soul however, produces a rich, overflowing place of gratitude for God’s abundant, new life provided through Christ .

We, who are so needy and undeserving, have a heavenly Father who displayed His generosity in a thousand ways!
Let the humility of this reality produce thanksgiving that runs rich!

Holy Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to see Your glory in creation, to recognize the gift of Your people, and to ultimately acknowledge how great a war was won with the best gift divine, Jesus Himself.

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