For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!—Psalm 107:21 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=4f88c88828&e=3dd732485b)How like us to forget to give thanks. We are so quick to come to God in times of need. We pray, "Lord, get me out of this" or "Lord, intervene" or "Lord, provide for me." We call on the Lord and then when He answers, we don't offer up a word of thanks.

Worse yet is when we chalk it up to dumb luck. It reminds me of the guy who was on the roof of a three-story house, nailing down a loose shingle. Suddenly he lost his footing and began to slide. Knowing he was about to fall to his death, he cried out to God, praying, "Help me! Save me! God, don't let me die! God, do something! Save me!"

Then, as he was nearing the edge of the roof, his belt loop suddenly caught on a nail, which stopped him. This allowed him to grab hold and then climb back up again. Reaching safety, he called out, "It's okay, God! I got caught on a nail!"

That is how we are sometimes. We say, "Oh, Lord, provide for me. I have this financial need. Lord, You've got to come through for me."

Then the next day, a rebate check for the exact amount arrives in the mail. "It's okay, Lord," we say. "The rebate check showed up."

Do we ever stop and think, however, that God has provided that for us?

Are you giving God the glory for what He has done? We are so quick to ask for His help. But let's remember to give Him the praise when He comes through. We should be as definite in returning thanks as we are in requesting help. Far too often we call on God in times of crisis, but we don't follow through with our thanks.

[Boaz]

It's true . We ask much more than we give back in praise . Thank you rl69 .

[square butte]

Never enough praise for what he has done and will do - Thanks for your morning efforts rl69

[Pine Baron]

Thank you rl, a needed reminder.

[buckwheatpaul]

Daily prayers give praise and generally sets the tone for the rest of the day....because walking with God makes the day better even if things go south for some reason......

[Ickisrulz]

The original post reminds me of the time Jesus healed ten lepers and only one (a Samaritan) thanked Jesus and praised God. Jesus remarks showed he expected a thank you for the gift.

The Book of Psalms should not be used as a type of systematic theology because many times the Psalms are human thoughts/emotions brought on by life's circumstances rather than divine instruction (e.g., Psalm 137:9). But if you read the Psalms carefully, you can see how much they influenced Jesus' thoughts and words.

[USMC87]

How true! I know it is all too easy to give credit to self than to who rightly deserves it.

[Blackwater]

I think it's good to mix a little "humor" or irony into our lessons. Folks tend to remember them at least a little better when we do. Our attitudes in teaching a lesson is absorbed MUCH more easily than the meat of the lesson is. And it's that attitude that subtly influences us in so many ways afterward. I really like lessons like this one. Getting hung up on a nail, and then ignoring that this is how God often works for us? This is the kind of thing that people remember, especially the young. But it surely has a lot to teach us all! It seems "fashionable" today to attribute any good thing to "luck," while crediting everything bad to "god." They don't know the same God that I do!

[TXGunNut]

Dumb luck? Not a chance, I'm not that lucky. But blessed, yes. There's no way I deserve or could have possibly "lucked into" the blessings I have received. I've said many times that we make our own luck. Some folks understand, some never will.

[TXGunNut]

I think it's good to mix a little "humor" or irony into our lessons. Folks tend to remember them at least a little better when we do. Our attitudes in teaching a lesson is absorbed MUCH more easily than the meat of the lesson is. And it's that attitude that subtly influences us in so many ways afterward. I really like lessons like this one. Getting hung up on a nail, and then ignoring that this is how God often works for us? This is the kind of thing that people remember, especially the young. But it surely has a lot to teach us all! It seems "fashionable" today to attribute any good thing to "luck," while crediting everything bad to "god." They don't know the same God that I do!

Yep, the guy "saved by the nail" was too busy grabbing air to notice the angel who pulled up the nail and hooked
his belt loop over it.

[Blackwater]

Indeed! The way we "think" is "funny" sometimes. The things we miss glaring. And by "funny," I mean strange and lacking fullness, not the "ha ha" kind of "funny." And yet, we have to laugh at ourselves, and our weaknesses and errors. It's so much easier to overcome them when we make fun of ourselves. It helps us take ourselves more lightly, so we CAN deal with them more easily. G. K. Chesterton said angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly. I think there's a great lesson in that thought, if we'd but learn it, in spite of the way the world around us encourages us to be so totally self-centered and absorbed. All that does, is make it harder for us to even SEE our faults and flaws, and if we can't see them, we can't deal with them, and correct them. Errors SHOULD be taken lightly, because they're so easily corrected, if we just let them be.