Oh Give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the peoples!
Psalm 105:1
The Lord is our caretaker
November is a perfect time of the year to think about giving thanks. While limiting the number of people encouraged to attend family social gatherings, many people are quickly becoming calloused and frustrated with life. I heard someone say the other day on television that the United States is “COVID TIRED.” Honestly, that makes sense. Then I started to question myself and ask if I were COVID TIRED. The answer is “probably.”
But as I write this morning, I want to encourage you to keep your eyes focused where they need to be. Maintain a healthy perspective about life and all it has to offer us. Planes, trains, automobiles, houses, pools, pets, boats, and other luxury items. But wait. If you place your eyes on those things, you shift your eyes away from the most important thing. While those things do provide pleasure for us, they cannot meet our most profound need for a relational God.
Psalm 105:1 tells us to give thanks to the Lord because He cares. Those other things like planes and houses and boats don’t care for us. We may care about them, but you can’t have a relationship with a boat. Although the two best decisions I ever made were the day I purchase a boat and the day I sold the boat!
With all humility and sincerity, we should give thanks to the Lord because He cares for us. He loves us and cares for us, whether we realize it or not.
This time of year reminds us that we are incredibly thankful for our families, but we should not forget the most important person to thank…the Lord.
The Lord is our answer
When the Psalmist tells us to call upon the name of the Lord, it is for a specific purpose. We call on the Lord because we need the Lord. There is no other reason. People who decide to run their own lives end up ruining their lives. No, I’m serious. People who choose that their lives have no room for the Lord end up making horrible decisions based on selfish desires because they failed to consult the one who has all the right answers to life’s problems.
Do you call on the Lord in the everyday and mundane things? Do you consult with the Lord over things that others might deem insignificant? Perhaps you only call out to the Lord when your world begins to crumble piece by piece. The word “call” actually means to “cry out.” This definition may confer a different perspective. We cry out because we are confident in God’s answer. He hears us, and He answers us. I want you to know today that the Lord even cares about those insignificant issues. So how are you doing in this area?
The Lord is our provider
As the Psalmist here refers to the nation of Israel and those who know the Lord (v.6), he asks them to “make known his deeds among the peoples!” This command is emphatic. It’s refreshing and also a great responsibility. The Psalmist is asking us to do something that goes against human reasoning. Stuff has long been the focus of people who have to have the stuff to maintain their happiness. However, when we truly understand that the Lord is the one who provides for our protection, care, identity, esteem, and love.
We are encouraged not only to give thanks for the Lord’s provision but also to make his provision known to all other people. The Lord’s miraculous works are so excellent we can’t help but tell people. And here’s the catch. When we tell people about what the Lord has done for us, we are also refreshing it in our minds to have a better memory of it.
Isn’t that neat how God works? He works, and we welcome Him. He works, and we worship Him. He works, and we tell everyone we know. Why? So that they just might come to faith in Jesus and experience a life-changing and immediate and forever transformation.
If you’re slightly interested in learning more about how to come to faith in Jesus, please click the following link.