Day 15: Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Scripture Reading: Psalm 50:14-15, 23
As we saw in chapter 8--and as you know from your own experience--giving thanks sometimes requires a sacrifice. Plenty of occasions exist in life where being thankful is the last thing you feel like doing, where nothing seems good or gratitude-worthy.
The last few days' readings have been leading up to this, and though this is a hard task to undertake, I pray that you will open your heart to the Lord and choose to embrace it. Today, I'd like you to make a list of all the difficult things in your life right now. Spell them out, as detailed as you'd like to express them.
Then, when you get through writing, I want you to classify these not as burdens and impossibilities. Rather, I urge you to use this list as a prompt for giving thanks.
That assignment may seem strange--or impossible! We are not expected to thank god "for" things that are sinful. But we can give thanks "in everything," knowing that God is still God and He uses all things in this fallen world to accomplish His purposes, one of which is the sanctification of His children.
Yes, to give thanks as you consider the list before you will be a sacrifice. You probably won't feel like making this sacrifice. But it will be pleasing to the Lord. And what's more, His promise to those who make gratitude their practice is that He will "show[them] the salvation of God" (v. 23). When gratitude becomes your newly adopted attitude and lifestyle--even in the midst of pressures and problems--you will see His deliverance in new and amazing ways.
Begin to track the ways that God is using these circumstances in your life. Perhaps they are causing you to become more dependent on Him, or to call upon Him in prayer, or to exercise faith in His promises.
When we call upon our Lord "in the day of trouble" (v. 15), with minds set on glorifying Him, He does marvelous things in the midst of our pain and sorrow. Thank Him by faith that He can use each of these situations as a means to display His glory.
GRATITUDE IN ACTION
Pray over any painful situations and broken relationships on your list. Ask God for tailor-made grace and for wisdom regarding each one. Then, rather than complaining about them, ask Him to show you how to turn them into praises. Open your heart to receive them as opportunities for His grace to shine through.
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