( From This Month’s Email Devotion )

God is Worthy

What do I have to be grateful for right now?

The thought intruded while I spent time with Jesus recently. My heart was heavy, so I’d opened my Pandora app and selected a worship channel, asking God to curate the playlist he knew I needed.

The first few songs were just perfect. I worshiped along in agreement. Then I heard the beginning of Brandon Lake’s “Gratitude.”

What do I have to be grateful for?

It was my knee-jerk reaction when I heard the song. Our family’s walking through a hard season, and I didn’t want to sing about gratitude. Songs about overcoming struggles, songs about hope, songs about God being with us in the fire…those seemed more appropriate. I did not feel thankful that morning.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, though, shame ambushed me. I knew better than to assume I have nothing to be thankful for. I should be rejoicing in all things, not giving in to grumbling…right?

Enter the “Lifter of my head”—the One who changes us, not through condemnation or derision, but with his love. His kindness draws us to repentance, raising our downcast gaze and drawing us back toward his heart.

His still, silent voice whispered to my soul, “Child, you have a lot to be thankful for, even in the valley of death’s shadow. But I don’t need your gratitude. You do. You need to give thanks so your heart doesn’t grow cold.”

My goodness, this shifted my perspective.

Yes, he’s worthy. As the Creator and Sustainer of life, he deserves my praise. As the all-powerful, miracle-working, water-walking Emmanuel, he deserves my devotion. As the Savior of all who come to him in faith, he deserves my obedience. As the Ruler of rulers and Sovereign over Heaven’s Kingdom, he deserves my allegiance. As the Giver of all good things, he deserves my thanks.

Yet though he’s worthy, he doesn’t need these things.

We are the needy ones. We need to recognize his worth so we can rightly understand his heart. We need to notice his goodness so we don’t venture into the land of hopelessness. We need to give thanks so our souls stay tender.

This encounter with God impacted me deeply. I’ve begun practicing gratitude as both as an act of worship and a means of self-care. Most mornings, after a time of silence, I talk with God in my journal about what I’m thankful for at the moment. And yes, this discipline has softened my heart through a very hard season.

To invite my kids into this practice, I ordered a much-larger-than-I-realized tree decal, which my obliging husband spent hours piecing together for our hallway. (Who knew humongous decals come in lots of little pieces and take a mathematical mind to fit them together?) Using chalk markers, we’re recording on the leaves gifts we’re especially thankful for. “God’s grace” and “pizza” were some of the first blessings written down.

Every time we walk down our hallway, our Gratefulness Tree reminds us of the goodness of God.

Because he is worthy, and our hearts need to give thanks.

You are worthy, O Lord our God,

to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things,

and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

 

Revelation 4:11 NLT

Personal Takeaway: What facets of God’s worthiness are most meaningful to you today? How do you feel about gratitude meeting our needs, not God’s?

Identity Check:* Because God is worthy, I can give thanks.

Prayer Prompt: Talk to God about what you’re thankful for—not just listing out blessings, but talking to him about each gift: why you love it, how you feel about him giving it to you, what it teaches you about his heart, etc.

For Further Study: Read Psalm 136, then create your own list of what God has done for you personally. Take time to thank him as you meditate on why he’s worthy of your gratitude.

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