Week 40
Psalm 118:28-29 “You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
This passage is a window into a happy heart, and it is so because it is soaked with thanksgiving to the good God of heaven and earth.
Thanksgiving recognizes that the God who exists is OUR GOD. The psalmist writes, “You are my God.” There is relationship in those words; Christians are rightly related to the Lord through Jesus Christ our Savior. Through Jesus we have a relationship with God. The psalmist repeats the refrain as if to say: “I can hardly believe this, but it is true – You who are God and my God.” This changes everything in my life. Even if other people turn against me, and even if life seems to go sour, still I belong to the Lord. He is my God, and I am His. There is nothing in this life equal to this – The Lord God is my God!
No matter what happens today, say this to yourself: “The Lord God of heaven and earth is my God! I am His, and He is mine. We are inseparable, and nothing will take us apart. All is well.”
In addition, thanksgiving fills the heart of the psalmist because God has been good to him. God’s lovingkindness has been constant and manifestly sufficient in his life. Even when hardship and trouble come, the writer of this psalm looks back and sees the goodness of God in his life. The goodness of God expressed in our lives is often shrouded by the mist of hurt and fear, but it is present none-the-less. As time passes and life calms down, then we look back and see that God and His goodness to us have always been present; this is what got us through. But thanksgiving fills our souls because God’s lovingkindness is EVERLASTING. Nothing will diminish or destroy it; nothing can take it away. No matter what I face in life, God’s lovingkindness to me in Christ is my constant companion, my dearest friend, and my daily support. I can get up in the morning and count on the lovingkindness of God in my life.
Thinking of these things makes the psalmist explode with praise and joy; he gives God the glory and the praise for this relationship and these gifts of grace.
Christian friend, we also can and must give God praise and glory for the same gifts. He is our God, we belong to Him, and His lovingkindness is present, sufficient, and everlasting. Rejoice.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for making me Your own. Thank you for watching over me. Thank You for giving to me Your lovingkindness, as You do. I praise and glorify You this day. Amen.
