A CALL TO GIVE THANKS
Psalm 107:23-31
LIFE AT BEST IS UNCERTAIN.
As brief as our lives are, a person is indeed foolish if they attempt to journey on life’s uncharted seas without God. Let no day pass without praising and thanking God for the multitude of blessings that He bestows upon us daily. Since we cannot be sure about tomorrow, let us glorify His Name today.
“Behold, Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight”. Psalm 39:5
“You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14 NASB
‘Man, who is born of woman, is short of days, and full of trouble. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.” Job 14:1-2
WE ARE MUCH LIKE THE FRAIL SHIPS OF OLD:
Doubtful in severe storms; increasingly fragile with the passing years; battered when tossed upon the rocks; helpless when run aground upon the unseen sand bars and uncharted reefs of life.
1. Storms of doubt; fear; distress; confusion; disappointment, etc.
2. Rocks of temptations; opposition (often by family and friends)
3. Sandbars of discouragement; weariness in well doing.
Some storms are of our own making while other storms are beyond our control or power to prevent. But we must never forget that however frail or weak we may be, His grace is always sufficient and His strength is always accessible to us.
“He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9
THE STORMS OF LIFE REVEAL THE POWER OF GOD:
Almost any ship can safely sail on calm seas...but the seas of life are rarely calm. The power of God is revealed when we have exhausted our strength. God knows our frail condition. “Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that the waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven.” Psalm 107:27-30.
Paul could testify how the Lord can deliver His own from the dangers of peril or shipwreck. On his voyage to Rome, where he would be tried before Caesar, the ship ran aground at Malta. Luke gives us the account of this event in Acts 27:39-44. “When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.”
God has a purpose in every storm, shipwreck, tragedy, disease, or whatever comes upon His children. All these things do not necessarily come from God but they are used by God to bless and strengthen our faith. Chance, happenstance or “luck” play no part in the life of the life of a godly Christian. There is a divine purpose for every thing that happens in our lives. For Paul, the ship-wreck at Malta became an opportunity to win that island to Christ. The blessings that come out of the trials and tribulations we experience may not become immediately obvious to us as they did to Paul on that occasion, but hold firm to the truth of Romans 8:28 and in God’s time, they will.
A CALL TO GIVE THANKS:
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” Psalm 107:1-2
I passed a church in another community recently and was greatly impressed by the message on their church sign. It read: “The more we thank God for what we have, the more we have to thank God for.” This is a wonderful truth and I determined not to keep this truth from my own community. Perhaps you noticed it on our sign this morning as you came to church.
Now, don’t take this to mean that if you continually thank God for the blessings He has given you that He will make you financially rich. Material prosperity plays a miniscule part in the biblical concept of wealth. Lazarus was immensely wealthier than the rich man who fared sumptuously. What child of God would dare say that Caesar Nero was a richer man than the chain-bound Apostle Paul in the Mamertine Prison in Rome? Not one!
We would do well to heed the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3-4).
Stay focused! Keep your eyes on Jesus, all the while remembering that to those who “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added” to them. (Matthew 6:33). Live victoriously, knowing that “God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19),
