Hymn of a Grateful Heart

A reflection by Sharon Nelsen

From Psalm 138 – 

1I thank you Lord with all my heart

You have heard the words of my mouth…

3On the day I called, you answered me

You increased the strength of my soul…

7aYou give me life though I walk amid affliction.

We could spend the rest of our lives thanking God and that would be enough!

What are we doing when we thank God?

·         We are acknowledging the source

·         We are recognizing gift

·         We are welcoming God’s Way in a variety of forms and areas: material, spiritual, relationships, desires of the heart.

·         Most importantly, we are making our acknowledgment, recognition, and welcoming a priority—the first act, the first words from our lips.

Why is giving thanks the priority?

Giving thanks

·         Increases hope for myself and for others-- for the Body of Christ

·         Increases trust in the loving power of God as we recognize unfolding “answers” to prayers

·         Increases our love for God, the One who hears us

·         Increases our faith, so that in long, difficult situations, we are able to persevere

·         Reminds us that God can and will bring all things to the good for those who love Him—those who trust and hope in Him.

·         Shifts our focus from neediness, from what is not yet done, to recognizing, remembering what has been accomplished, what is.

·         Inspires us to proclaim with the poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, that “The world is charged with the Grandeur of God!”

·         Inspires us to express creatively the abiding, caring presence of God in all aspects of life

·         Engenders joy and delight in the present –in what is right before us.

Giving thanks is not a legalistic mandate, something we’d better do, “or else!” Giving thanks is a gift that flows out of wisdom; a gift for us, an enduring gift that brings us into the abiding presence of God, now and forever.