Psalm 28 New American Standard Bible
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To You, Lord, I call;
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I raise my hands toward [a]Your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give back to them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart triumphs,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is [b]their strength,
And He is a refuge of salvation to His anointed.
9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
We have so much to give thanks, be grateful for in this life, every single day.
But reality is that sometimes, like on this massive shopping day the day after Thanksgiving called “Black Friday” constant life demands, battles, and worries over that “Perfect Gift,” give us more room to defeat than to a heart of thanks.
Or we forget, in the blinding midst of busyness and pressures, shopping, just to pause and give thanks for all that God has done and continues to do in our lives.
Sometimes it really is an intense sacrifice of time to offer praise and thanks.
We may not feel like it.
We are struggling.
We are weary.
We are feeling let down and disappointed someone else got what we desired.
Or maybe, for whatever other reason in life we feel like God has let us down.
Reasons like finances, our health, our spouses health or our children’s health.
We don’t have food on our table.
We do not even have a table because we do not even have a place to call home.
Our circumstances in life lead us to think, even hardcore believe God seems distant, like He’s far away, or doesn’t really care about what’s troubling us.
A steady stream of painful life blows and losses might have recently sent us spiraling – loss of job, a cut in salary, business is not booming but bills are.
But, thanks be to God, here’s what God gives us to make a lasting difference.
We will always have a God given choice, every day, grace – to give God thanks.
And with a heart of thanksgiving, we realize that no matter what we face, God doesn’t just work to change our situations and help us through our problems.
He does more.
He changes our hearts.
His power, His passion, His purposes for us, through our hearts of gratitude and our thoughts focused on Him, releases that iron grip our struggles have over us.
We are strengthened by His Grace, Quieted by His peace, and refueled by His joy.
No matter what our current situation, or the struggles we may be facing, here’s what God is always revealing to us – reasons for choosing to be thankful does:
- It gets our eyes off ourselves, and helps us to focus back on God.
- It reminds us we’re never in control, but that we serve a Mighty God who is. It keeps us in a steady place of humility and dependency on Him, as we recognize exactly how much we all absolutely need Him for absolutely everything we will ever need in life.
- It helps us to recognize we have so much to be thankful for, even all the little things, which often we may forget to thank Him for. It takes our attention off our problems and helps us instead to read, study, reflect on the goodness of His many blessings.
- It reminds us that God is the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. We were never intended to be fully self-sufficient in this life. A grateful heart reminds us that ultimately God is our ultimate Provider, that every single blessing and every single gift are graciously given to us by His hand and are fully assured by all His promises.
- A heart of gratitude leaves no room for complaining. For it is impossible to be truly thankful and filled with negativity and ungratefulness at the same time.
- It makes the enemy flee. The forces of darkness can’t stand to be around hearts that give thanks and honor to God. Our praise and thanksgiving will make them flee.
- It opens the door for receiving continued blessings. It invites His presence. God loves to give good and perfect gifts to all His children. He delights in our thankfulness and pours out His Holy Spirit and favor over those who give honor and gratitude to Him.
Why Being Thankful Is a Powerful Way to Live Free
Isaiah 55:1-3 English Standard Version
The Compassion of the Lord
55 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Maybe in this season of Thanksgiving, you are in a hardcore place right now.
Maybe, as you “look forward?” to the Christmas Season you feel like God has left you behind, on your own, to fend for yourself, or the battle seems too hard.
Maybe there’s never enough money left at the end of the month and you can’t figure out how to make things work, how to buy that one single perfect gift .
No matter what else, in it all, pray, be assured that God is with you and He cares.
Choose a heart of gratefulness today.
Make a list of all that God has blessed and filled your life with, that it’s been easy to take for granted at times.
Trust He always knows exactly what concerns you and is at work even now, to bring you through this uncertain season – thank Him for providing all you need.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 King James Version
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 