Thursday, November 26, 2020

Note of Encouragement: Boasting in God


It has been a tough year for many people this year. The reasons for that vary greatly, from personal trouble to international problems, from money and health concerns to spiritual struggles.

With so many pressures, fears, anxieties, struggles, questions, heartache, and sorrows, it is easy to get lost in the mire of it all. So to help me refocus on God rather than my circumstances, I delved back into the psalms and reflected on God—who He is, what He has done, is doing, and will do.

Believing that I am not alone in this, I pass along my study to you, in hopes that it might help you as well during this season of Thanksgiving…

Read: Psalm 150 -- Boast in God

Praise to God. This should be the foundation any thanksgiving we do, because everything for which we can be thankful originates with God. So it only makes sense to take some time to do exactly what this psalm commands: hallelu Yah, that is, boast in God.

Read: Psalm 33 -- Praise God for Who He is

As this psalm shows, one way we can boast in God is to remember and extol His virtues, excellencies, character, attributes. So what attributes (characteristics) of God are you thankful for? List as many as you can. (Hint: they don’t have to be the ones listed in this psalm.)

Read: Psalm 103 – Praise God for His Current Provision

As God’s people, we have received many benefits from His hand. These we should not forget, and how better not to forget than by thanking God for them? So what gifts/expressions of love and faithfulness from God do you see God providing currently in your life

Read: Psalm 145 – Praise God for His Past Deeds

God’s work, as the psalm points out, are mighty, wonderful, powerful, awesome, great… How can we not speak of them? So what have you seen God do this year?

Read: Psalm 46 – Praise God for His Future Work

Although we often use this psalm as comfort in difficult times, much which is described are things which are yet to come: The mountains have not yet fallen into the heart of the sea, there is no river yet that waters Jerusalem (the city of God), the earth hasn’t melted yet, desolation nor the ceasing of war has not yet happened. So while it is good to look back and thank God for what has been, and to look around and thank God for what is, we ought to look forward as well and thank Him for what yet will be. So what future things can we praise Him for now?

Read: Psalm 107 – Praise God for His Rescue

This psalm begins by commanding us to give thanks to the LORD for he is good. And what good does the psalmist have in mind? The rescuing of us. For the psalmist then goes on to describe four calamities that can befall people, some self-caused, some not. In each description, it is noted that the people cried out and God delivered. As result, we are commanded each time to “give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.” This has some overlap with previous questions, but it is worth considering nonetheless: what has God delivered you from?

Finally, after all that reading and reflecting, it seems only right to end with a psalm that is specifically marked for the giving of thanks:

Read: Psalm 100 -- Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

~Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!~

Happy Thanksgiving!

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