Gratitude

One of the favourite hymns we sing in church begins with the words "My heart is filled with thankfulness to Him...". It is by Getty and Townend and in its three verses it shows the whole range of God's salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The least we can do when we are Christians is to show thankfulness gratitude to God for all he has given to us. That is why Paul urged the colossian Christians to sing God's praises — and so should we; we have so much to be grateful for.

One of the old hymns has a chorus which urges us to "Count your blessings, name them one by one... and it will surprise you what the Lord has done" (by Fanny Crosby). There is a very good reason why the hymn-writer wrote those words. We can become so used to the many good things our Lord has done for us and given to us that we just take them for granted. What a shock we would get if a preacher told us there was no hope for sinners like us! But of course there is in Jesus, and our hearts should be filled with gratitude. Or what a surprise we would get if we were told all the food has run out. But that doesn't happen for most of us. We are blessed and should be thankful. Praise the Lord!

Prayer

May our hearts be full to overflowing with thankfulness to you, O God. You have given us so very much in your grace. Amen.