Focus

Relax and clear your head. Listen for the voice of God. What is God saying to you today?

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Read

Psalm 107:1-9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;

hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;

he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.

For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.

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Reflect

My automatic response to the question, “Hey, how you doing today?” is “Better than I deserve to be.”  I’m sure people have said this for a long time, but the first time I heard it was on a radio show in Nashville, TN.  It was the Dave Ramsey show.  This was before he blew up and became a staple in many church financial resources.  A caller would ask, “How are you doing today?”  He would reply, every time, “Better than I deserve.”  I heard that 20 times a show.

When I started using this response I wasn’t a Christian, but it made sense to me.  I was, in spite of myself, in a good place.  I had a good family, we had food and shelter, we had video games, I went to a good school, I had good friends.  The list of goodness in my life was long.  However, even then, I was smart enough to know I wasn’t working really hard for all of it.  I was just the recipient of being born into a good family that had relatively high expectations.

When I became a Christian this phrase became more real because I then knew it wasn’t just dumb luck or hitting the parent lottery that caused me to be “better than I deserved.”  Instead, the goodness that I experienced was because of God’s providence and God’s love.  I knew who to thank for the manifold blessings in my life.  Sometimes when someone greets me, I lengthen the phrase and say, “In spite of myself, I’m better than I should be.”  I, and many of you reading am the wanderer who thirst and finds God giving streams of water in the desert.  God gathers me back home, when like the prodigal, I try to run away.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

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Pray

Come Thou fount of every blessing, tune our hearts to sing Thy praise.  Let us give to You our gratitude for Your care and grace that we do not deserve.  Amen

Go with God!