The Daily Grace - Thanking the Lord

January, according to many US calendars, is National Thank You Month. This, of course, is easily transferable everywhere, so perhaps it should be Global Thank You Month. In order to make the best use of this celebration of gratitude, let's begin by seeing what Scripture says about thankfulness. Once place to start is Psalm 136, which begins and ends with the words, "Oh give thanks" (vv. 1, 26). Again and again in this chapter, we are reminded of a single, overriding reason to bestow our gratitude on our great God: "His mercy endures forever". We could spend the whole month learning about gratitude from Psalm 136.

The psalmist reminds us of God's "great wonders" (v. 4). He tells us of God's creative work brought on by His wisdom (v. 5). He moves on to rehearse the great exodus of His people (vv. 10-22). As we think through these pictures of creation and deliverance found in Psalm 136, we can easily find something to thank God for every day of this Thank You Month.

What better way to start off a new year than to concentrate on conveying gratitude to our Lord! "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (v. 1). When you think of all that's good, give thanks to God.