Thank You

There are times in life when we are particularly aware of the kindness of others. What they do to express that kindness might not even be a big thing: a touch, a meal, a prayer, a question. Other times the kindness might be greater, such as performing a significant task that we could never have done, or regularly intervening over an extended time frame. It can be easy to take those things for granted, maybe almost expecting them. However, when those kindnesses come at a particularly difficult or vulnerable time, we are so much more aware of how thankful we are for them.

When someone does for us something that we would never have been able to do or ministers to us at a time when we feel especially overwhelmed, our hearts are (or ought to be) stirred with deep gratitude. In fact, we might find ourselves offering thanks to that person repeatedly for the same thing, perhaps mentioning it again and again over a period of time, even to the point that our repeated thanks becomes awkward for the recipient. The excessive expressions of thanks are not intended to make the person uncomfortable; they merely reflect our recognition of how significant and special their action was at that particular time, of how intensely that kindness was needed.

As hard as it can be to notice and appreciate what other people have done for us, it is possibly even more difficult to be conscious and thankful for what God does for us. After all, when we receive His gifts and kindnesses, we don't have the same face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, He performs those kindnesses on such a routine basis that we don't even focus on all He is doing. Every day God is doing things for us, often in a behind-the-scenes way, so that we don't even realize what He is working out for us. God's kind actions are always what we need, and He performs them deliberately out of what His wisdom knows is best for us.

There are times when His displays are more obvious, perhaps giving a significant breakthrough, meeting an overwhelming need, or answering a heart-felt and long-standing prayer. Whether particularly noticeable in this way or whether in the routine care of life, God deserves our thanks and praise for all His kindness to us. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits" (Psalm 103:1-2).

This psalm goes on to list a great many significant things that God regularly does on behalf of His people. I once read this psalm on a birthday when I was feeling particularly low - not because it was a milestone number, but because it came at a time in my life when I was especially isolated and forgotten. As I considered this psalm, I was touched by God's expressions of goodness, and I organized the various aspects into a non-traditional poem that I entitled "My Birthday Gifts."

God gives me lovingkindness.

He abounds with it and places it on my head.
It is great, as high as heaven is above earth.
It lasts from everlasting to everlasting.

God gives me compassion.

He places His compassion on my head.
He is compassionate and gracious.
Because He knows my frail frame of dust,
He gives His fatherly compassion.

God gives me strength and blessing.

He is the healer of my diseases.
He gives me renewed youth like an eagle.
He gives me enough good things to satisfy.

God gives me His righteous rule.

His rule is sovereign over all.
He displays His acts to me.
He performs righteous deeds and judgments for the oppressed.
His righteousness extends through generations.

God gives me forgiveness.

He is slow to anger.
He has not dealt as harshly as my sins deserve.
He pardons all my iniquities.
He removed my sins as far away as east is from west.
He redeemed my life from the pit and gave me salvation.

Thank You, God, for Your gifts.

May I forget none of Your benefits.
Even the angels bless You.
I too should bless You.
Bless the Lord. Bless His name.

This combination of practical and spiritual gifts is typical of God's interaction. There have been some things in my own life recently that have caused me to focus on some notable kindnesses of God - special provisions and answers to long-standing prayer. I have been thankful for those things, but as my thoughts turned again to Psalm 103, I remembered that God has done and is doing for me a multitude of other very significant things. I don't want to take those for granted. I don't want to fail to see God's goodness to me.

Over the past few weeks, there have been several times when my heart has overflowed toward God by simply saying, "Thank You. Thank You. Thank You." This gratitude for practical intervention is appropriate, but I don't want to forget the spiritual blessings that God has also provided for me. When I think of His love, His compassion, His blessing, His righteousness, and His forgiveness - all of which are described in Psalm 103 - may my heart also overflow with that same expression: "Thank You. Thank You. Thank You." Unlike with people, where repeated thanks could become awkward, my thanks to God will never be enough, nor will it ever be dismissed by the great God who deserves it.

"Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will. Bless the LORD, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion; bless the LORD, O my soul!" (Psalm 103:21-22).