Thought for the Day – Tuesday 15th September
‘He lifted me out of the slimy
pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave
me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise
to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their
trust in him.’ (Psalm 40:
2-3)
How
strange it must seem for all these football teams, tennis players and other
sportsmen at present not to have an audience cheering them on. No one present
to sing their praises when they score a goal, no one there to clap and cheer
when they serve an ace, no one there to acknowledge their skills and expertise.
No wonder it is felt necessary to have ‘canned’ clapping and cheering and fans
shouting at events to inspire these sportsmen as they play and mimic for them the
excitement and passion and appreciation of them which is normally present.
Just
imagine if you had gone to the theatre say to see a play or hear a choir or
listen to an orchestra and then at the end of the night after having been entertained
in a magnificent way the whole audience just got up and walked out in silence –
how would those performers have felt? Totally unappreciated I am sure, when
actually having performed so magnificently they were truly worthy of praise and
perhaps even a call for an encore.
How then
must God feel when we fail to praise him for all he has done for us?
There is
phrase often bandied about which says ‘What did the Romans ever do for us?’
Well let’s rephrase it today by saying and asking ourselves ‘What did God ever
do for us?’ and the answer to that is surely everything!
So why on
earth would we not praise him constantly!
He loves
us unconditionally, he has gifted us in so many ways, he is gracious,
compassionate and merciful to us beyond measure, he does lift us out from the
slimy pits and mire of our lives and as our rock gives us firm ground on which
to stand, he is someone in whom we can put all trust and faith and hope, so why
would we not spontaneously worship and adore and praise and thank him beyond
measure, and constantly, in order to let him know how much he means to us.
If we are
not worshipping God in such a way then maybe, just maybe, it is time to remind
ourselves of who God is, of what God has done for us, of all he has given to us
and of all he continues to give to us and do for us.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
We come
before you recognising that we have been blessed with great abundance. Give to
us a thankful heart full of worship and praise of you, a heart so full of
thanksgiving that we cannot help but worship you. Give to us moments of quiet
in our days where we might take time to reflect on who you are and all your
great gifts to us and so worship you in a fitting way. We ask these things in Jesus’
name. Amen.
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