Utter a Word of Gratitude

June 25

Most of us, when listing the things for which we give thanks to the Lord, don’t even mention those taken-for-granted treasures that we glean from His hand every day. How often have you thanked God for the air you breathe? Have you thanked Him for a fresh, clean water supply lately? How about the three square meals you eat a day?

Most of us are quite lax in extending a heart-felt ‘thank You’ to our Heavenly Provider. It doesn’t cross our minds that apart from His steadfast provision, we are on the precipice of total devastation. Perhaps we could survive a while on the accumulated fat around our well-fed middles, but how long could we last without water or air? Right.

The Word admonishes us to give thanks for these things. The reality is, if we don’t feel grateful to our Maker for the basics of life, we probably don’t feel obligated to thank Him for the ‘grander’ things of life that we’ve acquired. Just as we receive the simple things of life without attributing our having them to His wondrous provision, neither do we extend a word of thanksgiving to Him for the wonderful acquisitions we feel we’ve obtained through our own effort and our own skill.

Psalm 107:8, 9 says, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” If you haven’t thanked Him lately for the love He evidenced toward you through His kind deeds and abundant provision, perhaps today could be a turn-around day for you. Perhaps today you might actually lift your eyes and heart heavenward and utter a word of gratitude for the wonderful deeds He’s done for you.