Give Thanks

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever."
-Psalm 118:29

These verses in the Psalms stand out to me a lot lately. It strikes me that there is never a qualifier listed. In other words, it never says, "If you're happy and you know, give thanks." It doesn't say, "If you've had a good day, praise the Lord." It simply commands us to give thanks whether we have had a good week or a bad week, whether we are happy or sad, whether we feel like it or not.

Why should we do this? We are given two reasons. First of all, we are to give thanks because God is good. This is important because God's goodness is not dependent upon our experience of His goodness. The sun shines every day. Sometimes we see it and sometimes we don't. Sometimes the clouds are thick. Sometimes the rain is strong. Nevertheless, above the storms and the clouds, the sun is shining as bright as ever. This is the reminder of the Psalm - no matter what you are facing, focus on what is above the darkness of the clouds - the radiant shining of the goodness of God.

The second reason we are to give thanks is because His steadfast love endures forever. This means that God loves you no matter what. His love will never change. This is a difficult concept for us to grasp because all we know is love that changes all the time. Even in marriage, we see couples who sometimes co-exist more than enjoying each other's love. Divorce is rampant. Friendships come and go. People let us down. We make a tragic mistake when we apply the same standard of love to God. His love is like no other. His love is based on Christ. He does not love you because of what you do, He loves you because of Jesus. He does not cease loving you because of what you do wrong because His love for you is based on Jesus, not on you. Of course, this all hinges on whether or not you are His child through Jesus Christ.

Why give thanks today? Because God is good and because His love for you will never change - because your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!