Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to Him. Psalm 95:1-2
Watching little children open gifts is both sweet, humorous, and a picture of our humanity. Some children "ooh and ahh" over the gifts they are given, but most do not. Most children open one present and immediately ask for another gift, putting their lack of gratitude on display. Many children must be reminded to recognize the kindness they have been shown and say "thank you." While we as adults learn to show gratitude to the people around us, we often need the reminder to recognize the blessings all around us.
David understood the importance of recognizing God's gifts. Throughout Scripture, we can read about David praising God for all He has done for him. One of these places is 2 Samuel 7. David prayed to God, saying, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?" (verse 18). Throughout this prayer, David praised God after being promised that God would make his family's kingdom great for generation after generation. With this promise, David could not hide his thanksgiving to God. He praised God and thanked Him for His blessings and everything He had done for him. "You have done all these great things and have made them known to Your servant," David declared (verse 21). He recognized that his blessings were from God, not because of anything he had done. David had the humility and the awareness to realize that everything good in his life was a gift from God, and I believe that this understanding affected every area of his life. I think that this is one reason he was able to show extraordinary kindness to Jonathan's family, particularly Mephibosheth, just a few chapters later in 2 Samuel 9.
When you think about your life, how has God been kind to you? Scripture makes it clear that He has been kind. The question is, have we been able to recognize His kindness in our lives, or will we, like a child, take His kindness for granted? Let's celebrate His kindness to us today.
God has been unbelievably kind to each one of us. Take some time to remember His kindness. Pull out your journal or notebook and write about the kindness He has specifically shown you. How has God been kind to you in your life? As you remember, practice gratitude. Thank Him specifically for the kindness He has shown you throughout your life.
Read Psalm 95:1-11(NLT)
Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.
Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
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