Thanksgiving

Do I Speak the Language of Heaven or Hell? Psalm 50

/ Anthea Kotlan / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving is the language of Heaven.
Complaining is the language of Hell.

author unknown

Giving thanks changes the atmosphere in the room and sends waves of gratitude out. Simply sharing something you are thankful for with another person may result in that person sharing a thanksgiving. Could it be contagious? Also, God’s word says that it pleases the Lord.

Meanwhile, complaining can rapidly catch on and lead others to find ways to camp out in places of disgruntlement. Sometimes we even try to outdo each other with our level of offense.

In Psalm 50, God commands His people to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving.

Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
(Psalm 50:12-15 ESV)

God knows our tendencies to count ways things are lacking long before we count our blessings. I am incredibly gifted in this area.

Giving thanks is a skill in need of cultivation. It takes a certain level of intentionality. Most of us don’t default to listing what we are thankful for. It is far too easy to complain.

Four Actions

In these four verses from Psalm 50, notice the four actions required. 

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Are you known as a thankful person? Do you tend to give thanks for what you have or complain about what you lack?

Perform your vows.

Are you known as a promise keeper? Do you keep your word?

Call upon the Lord in the day of trouble because He has promised deliverance.

When you feel sad or troubled, do you call out to God or phone a friend? Do you seek God’s deliverance or your own way out?

Glorify Him.

Do you take time to give God glory when He rescues you? Or when He gives you a blessing? Do you seek ways to point others to Him?

The Lord calls out the wicked.

The Lord also calls out the wicked after encouraging His followers to walk out their faith with actions.

16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
19 "You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
(Psalm 50:16-21 ESV)

Most of us don’t expect wicked people to be reciting God’s statutes or speaking about His covenant. However, Jesus warned his disciples about wheat and tares. The ones God calls wicked in these verses know His commandments and covenants. They know the truth and yet choose to turn from it.

God also describes them as those who are pleased with a thief, keep company with adulterers, and speak fluent evil and lies. Their pride caused them to believe God did not mind their grievous sins.

Does my pride get in the way of seeing my sins?

Simply knowing the truth does not inoculate any of us from the power of sin.

Mark this – Don’t Forget

22 "Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"
(Psalm 50:22-23 ESV)

Could I possibly forget God? People forget Him because He suggests that those who hear this message “mark it.” It is as if He is saying, “Highlight this point,” because it is far too easy to forget God.

How does God call me to glorify Him?

In the final verse of Psalm 50, God describes the one offering thanks as a sacrifice and says that person glorifies Him.

These thanksgivings are costly time, treasure, and talent. If it doesn’t cost anything, then it is not worthwhile offering. It takes time and effort to cultivate a thankful heart and mind.

After all, a sacrifice made grudgingly is not acceptable. 

Prayer

Lord, we long to please you and make sacrifices you accept. But we know we have missed the mark so many times. Teach us and guide us in the practice of cultivating thanksgiving in our hearts and minds. Help us to “order our ways” rightly and please you in our obedience. We cannot do this in our own strength. We ask for your help every single day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Can I Cultivate Thanksgiving? Psalm 9a

/ Anthea Kotlan / 1 Comment

When I was a little girl, the days spent between Christmas and New Year were filled with the arduous task of writing thank you notes. Looking back now, less than ten notes to write loomed large over those days. For my sister and me, the challenge felt overwhelming.

 I sat for hours at the dark wood desk in my room with the leather inlay carving out words with my blue ballpoint pen. The lightweight air mail paper made my penmanship even more difficult. Ink smeared over the words I crafted. I struggled to complete each note.

Cultivating Gratitude

My mother knew that cultivating an attitude of gratefulness required application. To feel thankful, putting pen to paper reinforces and acknowledges what has been received.

In Psalm 9, David begins his psalm with an order to write thank you notes to the LORD. While these notes do not have to be handwritten on airmail stationery, listing and “recounting” what God has done for us builds up gratefulness in our hearts and minds.

I must confess to a certain degree of pessimism in my own heart. Naturally, I lose sight of all I have received. Sometimes I need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude by making a list.

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 
(Psalm 9:1-2 ESV)

Listing off the Lord’s wonderful deeds will lead to wholehearted praise and a much-needed perspective shift for me.

3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. (Psalm 9:3-4 ESV)

Currently, I am traveling through a season of challenges regarding some financial matters—one of those times when my responsibility intersects with someone else’s mistakes. Today, I will choose to claim verse 4 as a promise. “For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.” This lifts the crushing pressure to fight for my rights off my shoulders. The Lord maintains my just cause day and night. He will prevail in His perfect timing and in His ideal manner.  

See the Everlasting Ruins

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
(Psalm 9:5-6 ESV)

How many times have we visited ancient and historical ruins and marveled about how a king or a country had so much in the world’s eyes, and then it was all taken away? During a visit to Israel a few years ago, I saw this time and time again.

Does the Lord leave “everlasting ruins” behind to remind us how much power He has? I believe those ruins stand as a testimony to His might and abilities. We are forgetful people who need visual cues.

7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;   he judges the peoples with uprightness.
(Psalm 9:7-8 ESV)

In whatever situation I find myself in, it is always comforting to be reminded of the Lord’s position in my life and the world. He is on the throne. He has authority in my life and the world around me. While the world appears to be spinning out of control, especially lately, He is still sitting in authority over it all. He will make a final judgment someday when Jesus returns to rule for eternity.

Try Hiding in God’s Stronghold

9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
(Psalm 9:9-10 ESV)

In the meantime, when I feel utterly overwhelmed by it all, I can withdraw into His presence, a stronghold. Because I know His name, I can put my trust in Him. Sometimes it becomes a daily challenge and even an hourly challenge. Spending time in God’s stronghold might look different for each of us. For me, it is choosing to sing songs of praise or sitting quietly and listening for His voice of reassurance. Sometimes, getting outside in nature tends to my soul by exposing me to God’s creation. Time spent in God’s presence brings a reset to my soul and renews my mindset.

Prayer

Lord, I choose to begin with thanksgiving. I will decide to make a list of all You have done and provided for me.

Lord, I choose to see the everlasting ruins You have provided to remind me of Your power. All the while, I will look up to seeing you enthroned forever.

Lord, today I choose to take a few minutes or even hours to hide in Your presence. Usher me into your soul-tending presence as I commit to sing praises and recall Your marvelous deeds.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Giving Thanks Does Me Good – Psalm 95

/ Anthea Kotlan / Leave a comment
(Woman with her arms raised high.)

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of gathering with a group of believers from across my denomination. The opening service for that weekend’s gathering featured one of my favorite worship leaders, and I sat with some lovely young women who embraced the opportunity to sing with full gusto. These are my people. Hymns and worship music are stories of God’s faithfulness that remind our hearts and renew our minds.

I walked into the service carrying some painful situations and while nothing of my own circumstances changed during the event, I felt a heart shift. While raising my hands high and giving joyous thanksgiving to God, my anxiety lessened, my irritation with life’s unfairness waned, and gratitude flooded my heart. In a season of leaving and letting go, God gently reminds me to give Him thanks because it does me good.

God does not need me to remind Him of all He has done for me, but clearly, I need to recall. Something unique happens in corporate worship carrying me closer to God’s throne even when I feel least capable of getting there by myself. On that evening, I needed an assist.

Psalm 95 contains both a call to God’s people to worship with a thankful heart and a dire prophetic warning. 

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Psalm 95:1-2 ESV

Lord, thank you that you invite me to gather with my community to sing, make a joyful noise, praise, and come into your presence. You know that I am designed to be encouraged by sisters and brothers in the faith. 

3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.

Psalm 95:3-4 ESV

Lord, thank you that there is nothing out of your reach. No place on earth that you aren’t there. You are always present everywhere.

5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

Psalm 95:5-6 ESV

Thank you that when I kneel before you, I have an opportunity to know you more. I can also surrender my own efforts and plans to Your sovereign will.

7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8     do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Psalm 95:7-9 ESV

Lord, thank you that you know me full well. You understand that my heart can become world-weary and slowly but surely toughen up in a protective stance. A hard heart struggles to hold on to hope and believe You are working. Keep me from grumbling because the caustic effect on me and those around me can destroy our relationship. Help me to hear your voice in daily doses.  

10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
Psalm 95:10-11 ESV

Lord, keep me steadfast and surrendered to your will. Guard my heart against moving away from You in slow and imperceptible ways. Save me from the dire consequences of separation due to unrepentant sin and rebellion. Amen

In this week leading up to the celebration of Thanksgiving in the United States, I must intentionally cultivate an attitude of thankfulness. Left to my own devices, I default far too easily to spotlight the less and the lack. I will choose to praise You and give thanks for all You are doing.

Don’t mind me, I’ll be the gal blasting praise music in my car as I run errands.  As I walk in the mornings, I’ll take time to recall Your good deeds. As I spend some extra time in my kitchen next week, I’ll give thanks for the abundance of opportunities to show hospitality.  

How about you? How will you cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving this week? I would love to hear your thoughts.