Gratitude

"SING TO HIM, SING PRAISES TO HIM;TELL OF ALL HIS WONDEROUS WORKS."
1 CHRONICLES 16:9

"LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD!"
-PSALM 150:6

I admit it.  I am a "glass half full" kind of girl.  I can explain why I am that way, based on my upbringing and a few other events in my life, but that doesn't make it acceptable.  I just tend to see the negative, the depressing, the bad side of everything.  I'm working to be better at that, but it is my natural tendency.

I remember the older generation saying things like, "This world is going to hell in a handbasket." or "It can't get any worse than this."  I thought that was ridiculous at the time.  I was a young person, full of hope for the future, thinking people who said those things were just old and used up. 

Now I'm the one saying it.  But when you dare to look at the national news, or even the local news and Facebook, it seems there is so much craziness going on.  It feels a lot like this:




Life seems to be spiriling out of control.  SO much stuff going on. As I started to write this, it was another blog about the chaos of life at this point and how God is still in control.  As I sat down, I heard a still small voice say to me, "What about Praise?" And it hit me. I have witnessed at least 3 major miracles in the last month......3 evidences that God is truly in control and still works miracles in this life. At that point I realized...........we become so focused on the craziness around us that sometimes we forget praise.  Praise for the amazing miracles God performs around us all the time.  


We forget to praise for the answered prayers about a very small child who was critically ill. When this child became sick I was petitioning God in prayer multiple times a day for this life to be spared.  During this time, I have thought a lot about what fervent prayer might look like if we could see it.  It might look like this:

In the case of this little boy, I'm sure it did.  I often thought about how nice it would be to let his mom and dad visually see those prayers.    We stormed heaven with prayers for him.  And God, in His mercy and grace, allowed that little man to go home with his family last week. His journey may not be over, but God has been faithful thus far. Praise Him!

Or the dad and husband who suffered a major heart attack.  It apparently looked pretty hopeless for a while.  Again, God was petitioned, and this man has awakened.  Not sure of the hurdles he may have to go through, but he is with his wife and children again.  Praise Him!

And finally, the miracle we have experienced about a woman who had a major accident resulting in a severe head injury.  It has been a very long road.  This is a woman has worked tirelessly for God in ministry to children near me, and sometimes we wonder Why? But, what once seemed to be hopeless is no longer hopeless.  She has made great strides and the future looks much brighter.  Praise Him!

You see, God works like this ALL THE TIME! Although these are the 3 miracles I have personally witnessed recently, I am sure each one of us can recall numerous miracles in all of our lives.  It seems when trouble strikes, we are sure to petition Him for help.  But what about after?  Do we always remember to praise Him, to announce His greatness for all the world to hear?  To thank Him with immeasurable gratitude?  I confess I am at fault in this.

At one point in my life I was going through a horrible time.  I did not see how I could possibly go on.  It was awful.    I was more certainly NOT thankful to Him or praising Him for that experience.  Looking back, however, I see that in His mercy, He was using that experience to lead me to a most precious relationship with Him.  Worth every bit of what I went through.  That's what He does.

As children, our parents teach us to write thank you notes when we receive a gift.  We are admonished to say thank you when someone does something kind for us.  But do we do that with God?  Or, after an answered prayer do we just move on to the next concern?

A Norwegian theologian said this:

"Jesus is moved to happiness every time He sees that you appreciate what He has done for you."
                                                    - Ole Hallesby

Doesn't He deserve our praise?  Every day?  I think so.  And today, rather than concentrate on the chaos, I'm concentrating on praise.  What do you have to praise Him for?


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