Walking in wisdom (iv) – Thanksgiving

As we wrap up our study on wisdom, today we consider an important element that ties up the life of wisdom in a bow – thanksgiving. How many of God’s children turn around and curse God for the very same thing they prayed for; they quickly forget all those times they cried for a breakthrough and as soon as they are inconvenienced in the slightest, they begin murmuring against that very same blessing they desired. Understand this church, the blessings of God have to be managed, you have to constantly apply yourself to the stewardship of what He has given you so it can multiply and not slip out of your hand. This is why we see King David write, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Psalms 103:1). He had to engage his own soul, because he knew that the soul has a tendency to only want to bless the Lord when things are going well, and that during the wilderness seasons, the soul holds no natural proclivity to bless the Lord! This is heart management at a high level, where you teach yourself to magnify the solution over the problem. As hard as it may be to accept, God does not respond to murmuring tears and sorrowful demeanors, He responds to His word and to faith!

He continues to say, “... and forget not all His benefits” (v.2) – because he knows that during hard times, we tend to forget every time the Lord came through for us in the past. Thus, deliberately bringing to remembrance everytime the Lord has been faithful builds a conviction that stimulates your expectation for a similar fulfilment in that present hour. The king goes on to list all of God’s wonders: the forgiveness of sins, the healing of diseases, the redemption of life from destruction, the showering of love and mercy over all creation (v.3-4) – indeed He is a good God and His hand to express His love and goodness is not cut short! This is the God we serve, He saves us from punishment we deserve and also takes us into blessings we have not earned! David continues, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (v.5) – this is not to refer only to food, but to the words the Lord fills our mouth with. When we come to the Lord, He fills His word in our mouth and we begin to speak the language of the Kingdom – the Word of God! He continually renews our strength, so we can go the distance in this walk of faith, which requires patience over a long period of time. 

We continue to read, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel” (v.7)- this comes after we see Moses request to know the ways of the Lord (Exodus 33:13-14), and it is here revealed that the Lord showed him His ways, while the others only received the ‘acts’ of God, i.e., miracles. Miracles have no sustaining power, but the principles of God are able to guard a man’s way and are able to keep him. We read that “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (v.8), again highlighting the Lord’s bountiful mercies which are available for our weakest hours and areas, wherein even in times where we deserve punishment, the Lord has created an escape plan for His children. This is how spoiled we are, church! We even further read from Hebrews that we should not be shy when we seek mercy and covering from our Lord, for it is written, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Even in those times when we know the odds are against us, being a child of God allow us to still come running to our father, not sorrowfully, as “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (v.10), but as rightful beneficiaries to the mercy of God that redeems! Do not be afraid to start anew even when things go wrong, we are confident from His word that the Lord has removed all our inequities as far as the east is from the west (v.12), and that as far as He is concerned, He is ready at any moment to open a fresh page whenever we are. Church, this entire passage is an exhortation from David to his own soul, He spoke aloud the Word of God to manage the crisis within and we too, should follow that same example.

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your word of grace and of mercy. For showing us divine strategies of protecting our heart’s ability to follow wisdom, for showing us how bountifully available Your mercies are for us, for showing us just how much You have clothed your children with passionate lovingkindness, and have ensured that we are always covered by Your wings, even in our weakest moments. What manner of love! We love You! In Jesus’ name, amen!