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Psalm 136:26

Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
(NIV)
Down to the last verse of this chapter. The author, though he could have gone on much longer, focused most of his attention on Israel's history. In the last verse he thanked this loving God for daily provision for all creatures.

In this verse he simply tells us to "give thanks..." and that is exactly what we should do.

I know, from personal experience, and from the experiences of others, that this simple idea of thankfulness can be so elusive at times. There are days and situations that seem so overwhelming that giving thanks just doesn't seem sane. But we give thanks to God, not just because of the bad things that He rescues us from. We give thanks because of WHO God Is. He is the creator, He is the rescuer and the redeemer, He is the sustainer, He is the God of Heaven!

If you only give thanks to God when He does things the way you think they should go, then He is not really your God, you have become your own god.

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  1. Anonymous10/11/2007 2:03 PM

    I've recently discovered Gods will in absolute terms......no grey area; this you can chisel in granite.
    Here it is:

    Be joyful always
    Pray continually
    Give THANKS in all circumstances
    for this is Gods WILL for YOU
    in Christ Jesus.
    1Thes 5:16-18

    So Matt, you have complete & total endorsment from God on this one.

    Thanks again for the reminder to live this out,

    JONO

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt Harmless10/16/2007 5:11 AM

    That is a great contribution at this point, but a difficult command to fulfill.

    If not for the grace of God, I don't think that anyone would even attempt.

    ReplyDelete

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