The Heart of Thanksgiving

The last few mornings in my quiet time there has been a little companion to my thoughts and my prayers. Not a physical companion but a spiritual thought, just there on the outskirts of my worship waiting to be acknowledged.

Not intruding with what I had been led to share for those days but waiting all the same to be recognized. This morning that prompting of the Lord stepped in, center stage and filled my every thought. It came as a praise chorus that I have sung for years.

“In my heart Lord be glorified, Be glorified. In my heart Lord be glorified today. In my life Lord be glorified, be glorified. In my life Lord be glorified today.”

Giving God glory and honor truly is the heart of Thanksgiving.

Seeing that He is glorified (honored) for all the goodness, the love, the joy, the mercy, the grace, the forgiveness and peace that He has given to us.

Father, I want my life to glorify You.

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples. I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you].” John 15:7-9 AMP

How do we glorify both our heavenly Father and Jesus, our Savior? “Do not doubt My love for you. Remain in Me, live by My example and let My words remain in you, then my Father will be glorified and honored by the fruit you produce”.

The seed of God’s word subtly takes root in our hearts and begins to grow. Things that had caused us to lose our temper no longer do; situations that tested our moral convictions are covered in prayer instead of pride. Worrisome reports produce attitudes of praise because we “do not doubt My love for you”.

In my heart Lord be glorified, be honored, be exalted.

“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.” II Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT

Enabled by the power of God to accomplish all the good things our faith prompts us to do. This will honor and glorify the Lord and it’s all made possible by His grace.

In my life Lord be glorified – that is the very heart of my Thanksgiving!

Light the World

In my quiet time, I began to sing. The first song that came to my heart was “In My Life Lord be Glorified”.

We talked about it the last week – David was able to defeat Goliath so all the world would know there was a God in Israel (I Samuel 17:46). Daniel spent the night with lions and came out unscathed and the king proclaimed that God, was the true god, to be worshipped. (Daniel 6:26-27). Esther went from being a peasant girl to queen that saved the Jewish people from annihilation, “for such a time as this”. (Esther 4:14) Finally Paul stood before the elite of Athens at the altar they set aside for “the unknown god” and said let me tell you who this unknown god is – then he told them about Jesus. (Acts 17:22-24).

God wants to be glorified in our lives!

When we honor and exalt Him we are bold; we are strong; we are confident. Not in our own abilities but in His. Jesus said about Himself:

“However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.” John 6:37-39 NLT

We also have a calling from the Father to do His will.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” II Corinthians 5:17-20 NLT

God will always have a voice, it is yours and mine.

“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” II Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT

Let’s be that light, be the voice; let the world see God through us.