Offering a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash
I woke up grumpy the other morning. It was a combination of not enough sleep, a weird dream, and age-related aches and pains. My immediate thought was, “This is not a good way to begin the week of Thanksgiving.”
I’d like to say things turned around as soon as I began giving thanks to the Lord. But it didn’t go that way. It seemed the morning got worse, and I got grumpier. Still, I attempted to pray, do some devotional Bible study, and reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness.
For me, just being thankful for simple things like my wife, our family, a home, electricity, indoor plumbing, and other things I can easily take for granted helps me get the day into perspective and myself into a healthier mindset. I tried that, but the morning still dragged on. Hmmm, what to do?
Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash
A sacrifice of thanksgiving
I recently read through Psalm 116, where the psalmist uses the phrase, “sacrifice of thanksgiving.” The psalm begins with thankful praise for how the Lord responded to a cry for help in a time of terrible distress. The psalmist recalls how the Lord helped, but it is also a personal exhortation to give thanks. (vss 1-6)
Here is how the Psalm 116 begins (vss 1-6)—
I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
The psalm ends with the psalmist committed to trusting the Lord with a thankful heart, and we see the phrase “sacrifice of thanksgiving” used (vss 17-19)—
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
An act of faith
Thankfully, I came to a similar turnaround in my heart from the grumpy start I had at the beginning of the day, and gained a much healthier mindset.
This serves as a reminder for all days, not just holiday weeks or weekends set aside for giving thanks. We shouldn’t need a special day to give thanks, even when we don’t feel like it. That’s when we need to offer a “sacrifice of thanksgiving.”
When we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, it’s an act of faith.
When we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, it’s an act of faith. Faith stemming from previous experience with trusting the Lord. We see this often with the psalms of King David, especially when he exhorted himself to “Bless the Lord, oh my soul!”
Sometimes that’s you and me. We need to exhort ourselves to acknowledge God’s goodness and faithfulness. If you’re like me, start with basic, simple things. These are things we tend to take for granted. Even when I open my refrigerator, I’ll give thanks for having one!
It may sound trite or even trivial, but sometimes we need to just get moving in the right direction. In physics, it’s called overcoming inertia, like pushing a car to start it. We could also use the expression “priming the pump,” but many people don’t realise that’s related to pumping water out of a well. Anyway, you get the idea.
Even when you don’t feel like it, rather, especially when you don’t feel like it—just begin being thankful. If that seems too difficult at first, listen to some worship music, read the Psalms, sing out loud, and if all that fails, do what David did—exhort yourself to give thanks to the Lord.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
You also might enjoy reading this devotional, similar in tone to mine above. It was written by the venerable Rev. David Wilkerson, who moved on to glory with the Lord in 2011. Just click on the link below—
Thanksgiving time by David Wilkerson
