Let’s face it – 2020 has been a strange year.
But God was not surprised by all the events that have happened.

Would you join me in a four-week countdown to Thanksgiving?
When we stop for a moment, we realize we have much to be thankful for.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

(Psalm 9:1-2 English Standard Version)

Its’s easy to feel beat down and tired by life’s events this year, isn’t it? It feels like the easiest thing to do is to sit and complain about life, to sit in our little puddle of sad until life (and the world) gets better.

King David wrote this psalm to express his love to the Lord for all that God had done in his life. Despite having enemies on every side, David did not despair, nor did he worry or shrink in fear.

Instead, David turned all his worries into worship, all the pressures of life into praise to the Lord. Instead of looking down at his circumstances, David chose to look up to the Lord, knowing the only God can make things better.

David was not half-hearted in his worship of the Lord, just to “check the box” and say he had spent time praising God. Instead, David gave thanks with his *whole heart*.

And how did David decide that God was worthy of praise? By recalling all the good that God had done in his life in the past.

Here is a paraphrase of the same passage above that captures the essence and emotion of what David was expressing:

Lord, I will worship you with extended hands
as my whole heart explodes with praise!

I will tell everyone everywhere
about your wonderful works
and how your marvelous miracles
exceed expectations!

I will jump for joy and shout in triumph
as I sing your song and make music
for the Most High God.

(Psalm 9:1-2 The Passion Translation)

Lord, may we remember to be thankful, remembering that all good in our life comes from You and You alone. And Lord, thank You for Your power to redeem all the bad that happens for Your glory and our good.

Lord, as we look back over the course of our life, help us remember all that You have done for us, in us, and through us. And may that lead us to have thankful hearts to You.

Lord, may we, like David, worship You and You alone with our whole hearts.

Amen.

Learning to be thankful,
~kevin