As I lay in bed in the happy place between asleep yet almost awake but wishing you could turn back to fully asleep, give thanks to the Lord for his great love…give thanks to for his wondrous acts are the first conscious thoughts that roll into mind. If memory serves correctly, they are the words from a passage of scripture I read in psalm a few days ago.
Before these little nuggets can escape, I grab my pen and scribble them down. Surely they have significance.
We often spill off a laundry list of things we are thankful for but how often is God’s love sitting at the top of the list? Or perhaps I should say how often do I have it sitting on the top of my grateful list?
We easily focus on the to do list and miss the who He is. Scripture reminds to be thankful for the very nature of God. It is from his loving nature that we receive the wondrous acts of God hands.
Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Psalms 107:15 NLT
What if just for today we focus on being thankful for who God is rather than what we want to see done in our lives?
Sharing with a Little R & R and Three Word Wednesday
Hallelujah! We can get so wrapped up in our needs that we forget to simply be thankful for the I AM. I was reading some verses the other day that, in effect, said that I can give Him everything because everything we are, and anything we have, comes from Him. We are nothing and we have nothing except through the I AM. That alone should cause thankfulness to rise up. As this prayer from King David reminds us, thanksgiving keeps our hearts focused on God and draws us closer to Him.
1 Chronicles 29:10-19
Blessed are You, God of Israel, our father
from of old and forever.
To You, O God, belong the greatness and the might,
the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor;
Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;
the kingdom all Yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.
Riches and glory come from You,
You’re ruler over all;
You hold strength and power in the palm of Your hand
to build up and strengthen all.
And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to You,
praising Your splendid Name.
14-19 “But me—who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to You? Everything comes from You; all we’re doing is giving back what we’ve been given from Your generous hand. As far as You’re concerned, we’re homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us. God, our God, all these materials—these piles of stuff for building a house of worship for You, honoring Your Holy Name—it all came from You! It was all Yours in the first place! I know, dear God, that You care nothing for the surface—You want us, our true selves—and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly—what a joy! O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you. And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what You command, live by Your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.”
Oh those on such wonderful passages of scriptures LaVonne. He is our everything.
Oh, I just love this. Such a beautiful reminder and I just loved the simplicity yet beauty of your message today. So good. Thanks so much.
So glad I had the opportunity to join you today.
Dear Wanda
This is so true! When Jesus is our life , we experience a deep, inner gratefulness that has nothing to do with our outer circumstances!
Blessings XX
Mia
So well said Mia!
Yes, Wanda, yes!! Your thoughts echo the words that God keeps saying in the deep corners of my heart: “Sharon, is it really just Me?”
Yes, Lord, above all the wonder-full things You do and give, I love YOU the most. Just You.
GOD BLESS!
I appreciate his gentle nudge to refocus on Him rather than His acts.
So good! My heart wants to stay focused on there Person of Jesus. For when my eye are fixed on Him, everything else falls into place. Blessings!
The world offers so many distractions that easily robs of us seeing things fall into their proper place. But when we see Him in the right place everything else comes into proper view as well. Thanks for the great reminder Barbie.
Hi Wanda! Getting that order right in my mind is a challenge sometimes. I can pick out the things I am thankful for, but do I really remember that it’s all a love offering from God? Great question!
I love the image of you reaching for that pen. Such a writer you are! Inspiration comes at all crazy times, doesn’t it? And those are raindrops of grace too. Beautiful!
Good to see you today my friend,
Ceil
Raindrops of grace…I love that Ceil. You’re such an inspiration my dear. I don’t often get the order of things right myself but oh lovely of God to send us reminders.
Amen!
Echoes my devotional today on Psalm 84!
Long for God, praise Him.
Don’t seek His hand (give me, give me, give me), seek His face.
Just like we don’t want to be around so one who always after more more more I imagine God often tires of hearing our wants too. I look forward to reading what you have shared TC.
I”m sorry, I meant my private time with God. At this time I haven’t written a post on it, but it’s a wonderful topic! Praise God.
Enjoyed reading yours today. Have a wonderful weekend.
Oh no problem TC. That what was my fault. Had my on blogs so i just assumed you meant you had written about on your blog.
How easy it is to focus our prayers on our needs and requests, but so important that we focus also on how grateful we are for who God is, not just what He does in our lives. Thanks for this message today!
It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in our wants Kathryn. I appreciate God reminding me to focus more on who is. Have a wonderful weekend.