Woeful or Grateful?
Woeful or Grateful?
We, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will thank You forever; we will declare Your praise to generation after generation. (Ps. 79:13)
It was one of those weeks. First my car wouldn’t start and needed to be towed to the mechanic. Next, it rained, which wouldn’t be so bad, except our roof began to leak. Then I fell down on a slippery sidewalk and hurt my lower back. Throw in a sick child, a broken jar of jam all over the kitchen floor, and I had the makings of a terrible week.
At first I resented my sister’s cheerful exhortations when I told her my woes. Her reminder to be grateful in the midst of my problems didn’t sit well with me. But when I got off the phone, I decided to put her suggestion into practice.
I escaped to my back-porch swing and began to thank God. Initially I couldn’t think of much to be thankful for, but gradually I began to list a number of ways He had blessed me and my family. In fact, as I thanked God for His faithfulness, the generous way He has provided for us, my salvation, my children’s able bodies, and my husband’s tender companionship, my heart began to swell with genuine gratitude.
When I got up from my swing and went inside to prepare dinner, I still had a leaking roof and a sick child, but I was no longer depressed. My joy had been restored.
King David had a way with words, and many of his psalms express his troubles in such a way that we can certainly identify with them. But David knew better than to count his troubles without also counting his blessings. Repeatedly David chose to express his gratitude to God even though his circumstances were daunting. Check out Psalms 13, 103, and 138 to see how David deliberately chose gratitude over worry, depression, or defeat.