I find myself guilty of a lack of gratitude. This occurs more often than I want to admit. Whether it's the result of some perceived injustice or simply a preoccupation with things pertaining to myself, my wandering heart tends to lead me down a path where discontentment and self-righteousness take hold. At the end of this path is a dark and lonely place where my desire to show gratitude is based on my judgment of the things and people around me.
As a Christian, that is not a place I belong. It is nothing more than a place where my eyes are fixed on myself.
In my last article (Purpose in the Pause), I pointed us to Philippians 4:1-7 to encourage us to rejoice in the very God who hears our prayers rather than an expectation of a particular outcome. In his letter, Paul was encouraging the church at Philippi while he was imprisoned. It would be humanly understandable in Paul’s situation to be lacking in gratitude, yet throughout his prison letters this was not his response.
As tempting as it might be to chalk Paul’s ability to encourage the church while dealing with personal hardship to some superhuman trait, that would take the credit away from where credit is due. Paul simply, but so powerfully, reminds us through his example to take our eyes off our circumstances and place our focus on the Lord - for the Lord is all we truly need.
If I had continued sharing from Philippians 4, we would have seen the following text in verse 8:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Reading these words, my first reaction is that the things we are called to think about are not things that steal our gratitude. How could they be? To the contrary, anything that would meet this criteria would surely be something that we would be grateful to experience.
My second and much more important reaction is that the only thing that truly satisfies all of these attributes is God himself!
It is without question that the lesser things that drive me to discontentment and self-righteousness are not true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. But it is equally without question that the Lord our God is!
God being the center of all of the things Paul calls us to dwell on is consistent throughout Scripture. While I am sure that is of no surprise, it still amazes me how God’s Word and the very history it has captured show a purposeful and continuous orchestration of pointing His people back to Him.
As an example, I recently studied through some psalms of worship and thanksgiving. In doing so, I noticed a thread of gratitude very similar to what Paul was calling the church at Philippi toward.
In the familiar words of Psalm 100, we read the following:
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
While these words were written hundreds of years before Paul’s, we still see a focus on gratitude and joy because God alone is worthy of praise. This psalm calls Israel, and in turn the whole earth, to a place of joy, gladness, worship, identity, thanksgiving, and proclamation because of God’s goodness, steadfastness, love, faithfulness, and sovereignty. These sure sound like things that would qualify toward what Paul was calling us to dwell on in Philippians 4:8!
Notice, however, what is missing. There is no mention of self-focus. Like Paul’s words in Philippians 4, the call isn’t to (only) respond in gratitude because of God’s response to our needs, but rather in response to the very goodness of God.
Why do we have a heart of gratitude? Because the Lord is good and his steadfast love endures forever! He is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise!
It’s hard to read the last line of Psalm 100 and not be drawn to Psalm 136. Psalm 136 uniquely uses a large amount of repetition to emphasize its focus - the goodness of God and the endurance of his love. Twenty-six times the phrase is repeated, “for his steadfast love endures forever”!
Though the text praises God for his deliverance of Israel, the consistency and sovereignty of God allow applicability to the modern-day believer and allow us to join in giving thanks with a heart of gratitude.
Using the words of the psalm itself, we can see that we are called to give thanks because the Lord is good - for His steadfast love endures forever.
We are called to recognize him as God of gods and Lord of lords - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are reminded that He alone does great wonders - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are reminded that He breathed life into all creation - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are reminded that He delivers His people out of captivity and strikes down their enemies - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are reminded that He will fulfill His promises - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are reminded of His compassion and provision toward His people - for his steadfast love endures forever.
We are called to give thanks to the God of heaven - for his steadfast love endures forever.
As I sit here a few thousand years removed from the time of this text, the temptation can be to simply read words on a page. But the call to us is to see that the God that Paul directed the New Testament church toward is the same God that reigns over all of creation and was the subject of Israel’s praise. Why? Because He is good and His love endures forever.
These aren’t just empty phrases. These are the psalmist’s statements of gratitude toward God. These should also be statements of gratitude from us, because we are restored in relationship to the exact same God through the blood of Christ!
The praises of this psalm remind me that I need to hold a posture of gratitude toward the God who reigns sovereign, fulfills His promises, and is eternally unchanging.
Jonathan Edwards was quoted in an article I recently read regarding this psalm. His statement read, “The psalm confirms to me that an ultimate end of the creation of the world and of all God’s works is his goodness, or the communication of his good, to his creatures. For this psalm sufficiently teaches that all God’s works, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, are works of mercy to his people, yea, even the works of his vindictive justice and wrath, as appears by the Psalms 136:10, Psalms 136:15, Psalms 136:17–22.” (Works of Jonathan Edwards, 24:537)
I love how this quote states that this psalm “confirms” the ultimate end of creation and all the works of God. Our gratitude should be motivated by His goodness and His works of mercy and justice. I will say again that He is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise!
If, like me, you find yourself challenged by a lack of gratitude because of an inward focus, remember the call of Psalm 136: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. See that God satisfies the things Paul calls us to dwell on in Philippians 4:8.
And, Christian, let that fill you with a true sense of gratitude.