A Thanksgiving Devotion
Psalm 75:1 (NKJV)
1 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
The Psalmist Asaph begins our Scripture verse with a simple declaration. It is the declaration that the people of God will give Him thanks. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5). You see, it is wrong not to say thank you to someone who has been generous towards you. Imagine if you had a child. Your friend comes over and brings your child a gift. Your child takes the gift and runs away and plays with it. Then your child ignores your friend for the rest of their time with you. You are no doubt, mortified. Normally, you would take the child and say, “Now what do you say?” The child says, “Thank you.” The Lord is to be given thanks for all of His abundant grace and mercy. Every breath that we take, every interaction we have, everything in its totality is because of the mercy of our Creator. “For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15). Our thanksgiving is meant to abound to the glory of God.
“For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”
We have abundant reasons to give thanks to the Lord. The Psalmist makes sure that we understand that. He says, “Your wondrous works”. The Lord’s work is indeed wonderful. All one has to do is to look around. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20). The creation itself declares the attributes of God and holds all men to be without excuse for praising Him. All that goes on in a person’s life declares that God is near. He has made Himself abundantly known in every experience of humanity. Nothing happens outside the will of God. He is sovereign over all things. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18). He has authority over all things, no matter what it is. All that happens declares the nearness of God. Dear reader, we are called to give Him thanks. Let us do so with all of our hearts.
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