Evangelism
Thankfulness
This is a devotional written by Hannah Fairclough who knows all of the colours in Joseph’s technicolour dream coat. She learnt them all as the narrator in a school play but got tonsillitis on the opening night and never got to recite them.
Psalm 118:24-29
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[a]
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up[b] to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[a]
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up[b] to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Reflection
It was wonderful seeing all those people that you brought along to the Life Dinner last
night! What an incredible night of food, music and friends being brought to church for the
first time. I think there is a lot to be thankful for in the light of this. I love seeing prayers
answered that have been on our hearts for a long time and I think the Life Dinner can be a
real catalyst for this! So, if that one person that you’ve been praying to come to church for
forever came yesterday "The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice and be glad".
However, I know that for some people their prayers may not have been answered last
night and it can feel hard to be thankful. But here I think we should take a leaf out of
David’s book. In this Psalm we see ‘classic David’. He’s unashamedly singing the Lord’s
praises because ‘he is good’. In this Psalm he is thanking God for being God, not any one
small specific thing - but something much broader; the simple but incredible truth about
God "he is good; his love endures forever". It’s obviously really important to say thank
you when we have answered prayer or for something that’s been specifically on our
minds, but how often do we spend time thanking God for the broader areas of our life?
That he loves us, that we know him and he knows us, that he is good.
In light of what happened yesterday (fulfilled prayer or not), spend time noticing and
being aware of the gifts God has given you in your life and truly thank him for them.
Imagine how your attitude might change if you start everyday by being thankful to God
and noticing how good he is. Might you see other areas of your life transformed, will your
friends or colleagues notice something different about you that might just spark that
conversation you’ve been praying for?
night! What an incredible night of food, music and friends being brought to church for the
first time. I think there is a lot to be thankful for in the light of this. I love seeing prayers
answered that have been on our hearts for a long time and I think the Life Dinner can be a
real catalyst for this! So, if that one person that you’ve been praying to come to church for
forever came yesterday "The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice and be glad".
However, I know that for some people their prayers may not have been answered last
night and it can feel hard to be thankful. But here I think we should take a leaf out of
David’s book. In this Psalm we see ‘classic David’. He’s unashamedly singing the Lord’s
praises because ‘he is good’. In this Psalm he is thanking God for being God, not any one
small specific thing - but something much broader; the simple but incredible truth about
God "he is good; his love endures forever". It’s obviously really important to say thank
you when we have answered prayer or for something that’s been specifically on our
minds, but how often do we spend time thanking God for the broader areas of our life?
That he loves us, that we know him and he knows us, that he is good.
In light of what happened yesterday (fulfilled prayer or not), spend time noticing and
being aware of the gifts God has given you in your life and truly thank him for them.
Imagine how your attitude might change if you start everyday by being thankful to God
and noticing how good he is. Might you see other areas of your life transformed, will your
friends or colleagues notice something different about you that might just spark that
conversation you’ve been praying for?
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2019
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