Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

“But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.” (Jonah 2:9)

I’ve recently read that “when your mind is occupied with thanking [God], you have no time for worrying or complaining.” (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) How much of a sacrifice is it to praise instead of worry?  It doesn’t seem like it should be a sacrifice…but I know it is. Sometimes the pain is just too much. I don’t have the words to speak or think; and if I do have words, “thank you” is not the first ones to come to mind. My worries and trials are the things in my life (present or past) that I want to be different but aren’t and maybe will never change. There are times when I don’t want to praise; I don’t want to be thankful. I just wallow in my worries, thinking I can “fix” things for myself. I constantly pick up “that” worry instead of lay it down and thank my Heavenly Father for how “that” worry or situation is refining me to become more of “the” woman He has always intended for me to be. It reminds me of how I let my children make a bad choice (after I have already told them my desire for their good, and what I think is the better choice to make) – I let them fall, so they can learn how to get back up, make the better choice and learn to walk a better path in the future having learned what is good for them. I know they will be safer, they will be stronger, they will be wiser by going a tough path for a season and learning how to follow the signs for a better path.

God does not desire sacrifices of things…He want us (Hosea 6:6). He calls us to something more than giving our stuff – He calls us to give ourselves, our hearts, our dreams, our worries. It’s why He made us…to love us, to care for us and our needs (1 Peter 5:7), to free us from the bondage of sin (ours and others sin against us), to lead us along paths of righteousness, to simply be with us forever. God does not want us to walk the path alone; He wants us to walk with Him. Yet, here I am, this side of Heaven…getting lost in the mire of “the” worries instead of looking up, seeing my powerful and loving Heavenly Father’s face and thanking Him for making me new, different and working all things for my good; even if “the” worry doesn’t or can’t change. (Revelation 21:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:28). So, no matter what the day (or this life) has brought me, I can offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and rejoice because this is “the” day the LORD has made for me (Psalm 118:24).

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,” (Hebrews 12:28 NIV)

How can I pray for you in this day the LORD has made for you?