“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)
This call to give thanks is a call that rings through the history of God’s people and is central to a life of worship and joy. As we approach thanksgiving weekend reminders come from so many directions to take time to give thanks for all that life has given to us. Maybe in the midst of a global pandemic the call to give thanks becomes even more important for us hear.
It can be easier at times to focus on what is bad – what needs to be fixed immediately, what crisis must be prevented or overcome, what new thing we need now to make your life better. Learning to notice the good, and the gifts of abundance we already have, and then giving thanks for them, takes practice. The practice of gratitude is a practice so important in our lives!
Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. Gratitude is a spiritual practice of seeing and celebrating the good in the world around us. It’s a practice that helps us notice and appreciate God’s work in the world.
Brené Brown, a writer and research professor, in her book “The Gifts of Imperfection” highlights an important link between gratitude and joy. Brené noticed that every person she interviewed, who described themselves as joyful, actively practiced gratitude and attribute their joyfulness to their gratitude practice. They understood joyfulness and gratitude as spiritual practices bound to a belief in a power greater than themselves. She concludes that “There is no joy without gratitude!”
The poets and worship leaders over 25 centuries ago also seemed to know that practicing gratitude and living a life of joy flow out of a belief in a power greater than ourselves! Psalm 136 was an important Psalm of praise for the people of God. As it called God’s people to give thanks it focused on the living God who was the “greater power” of their lives.
Psalm 136 names God as the “God of gods”, the “Lord of lords”, the “God of heaven”, the God who “does great wonders” on the earth. Throughout the Psalm, which is written as a responsive litany of praise, the leader calls the people to praise their God for the “great wonders” that the Lord has done. The people respond with the powerful refrain, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.”
This refrain proclaims the most basic characteristic of God toward his people – steadfast love! The Hebrew term translated “steadfast love”, is also translated as: mercy, grace, kindness, faithfulness, loyalty. It is a love that is boundless, a love that loves no matter what the circumstance or response. This love is everlasting, eternal, it never fails and never quits. The origin, past history, present and future of God’s people, are intimately tied to the faithful and forever steadfast love of God!
This call to gratitude, that results in joy and is intimately connected to God, is summed up so well as the Apostle Paul nears the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…The one who calls you is faithful. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 24a).
Notice that we are not called to give thanks for all circumstance but rather to give thanks in (as we go through) all circumstances. Some circumstances are really hard. They should not happen but they do. Yet in the midst of them God remains faithful, God’s steadfast love endures! Because of that amazing truth about God we are able to see good even in the midst of bad circumstances. By God’s grace we can practice gratitude by giving thanks for the good we are empowered to see.
How will you express your gratitude this weekend? Where have we seen good, and how do we appreciate that good in the world around us? How are you/we experiencing the steadfast love of God that is all around us?
I invite you to read Psalm 136 as an act of giving thanks. And I invite you to write your own Psalm in the pattern of Psalm 136. I offer my contemporary paraphrase.
O give thanks to the LORD, for God is good; for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to God who dwells within us; for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to God who does great wonders, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
great wonders revealed in the ordinary details of our lives,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
who created the heavens and earth and all within them,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who continues to create and renew by bringing order out of the chaos of our lives,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who brought Israel out of the slavery of Egypt, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who delivers us from the chains of circumstances, addition, fear, violence, prejudice and hate,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who led God’s people through the wilderness, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
and rescues them from all their foes, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who has brought us through 7 months of Covid-19, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
and is helping us heal and discover hope as researchers prepare a vaccine to fight our current foe,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
who gave the promised land as a heritage, for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
and gave food and water as nourishment along the way,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
who is helping us discover our “new normal” and dream new dreams;
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
and is nourishing us through all our grief of letting go and finding our new way;
for God’s steadfast love endures forever;
Israel’s God is our God too and continues to bring restoration, healing and hope to all people;
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of heaven, who continues to do good work on earth, even in 2020,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.