I will give you thanks with all my heart. (Psalms 138:1)
David’s holding nothing back. Everything inside him is bursting out to God, “Thank you!” He’s thinking and getting hyped about all the things God has done and is still to do.
Sounds nice, but how do God’s people get “hyped” in the middle of a pandemic that feels like it’s never going to end? Maybe you recently found out that you’re not returning to a job and workplace that’s been like family the past 10, 20, 30 years. Or maybe your company had to cut hours, and now you’ve got double the workload. Possibly for some of us it feels like we’re just floating around this weird time, furloughed and unemployed time. And we’re losing a sense of purpose in this life, not sure on what to do next.
What a crucial time it is to stop doing things our way and really turn to God for help! To shake off that lethargy or weariness from this crazy pandemic, you need to stir your affections toward the One who made you and knows you by name.
Try this activity: Grab a pen and paper (or your phone) and spend at least five minutes writing a gratitude list. And not just a “gratitude list” like those self-help books teach, but write a gratitude list to God. This makes the activity God-centered and not self-centered. We need a lot less self, and way more God! Okay, next step is to think of every single good thing that you have in your life and write it down. Then to the best of your ability sincerely-genuinely-authentically, thank God. You can do this by reading your list out loud. Just between you and God. And thank God out loud. Yes, aloud! Express your thanks to God not from your brain, but dig deep, until you find that place in the core of your being. And by faith with everything in you tell God “Thank you!”