406
It may not have occurred to you that there is a correct. Scriptural kind of gratitude which you, as a Chris tian, should feel and express toward God. It will be helpful at this sea son to consider . . .
pressed in the words, "I thank Thee that I am so much better off than other men.”This is another false inter pretation of the song, “Count your Blessings.” The distinction here must be very carefully drawn. We must not discourage giving thanks for particular blessings. . “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene fits” (Psa. 103:2). The word translated benefits, gemoul, signified the dealing of the hand of God. It is possible, however, for us to focus attention upon the things which God has dealt out to us in such a way as to for get the Lord himself. There is danger that in our reaction from the war, in our profound thanksgiving that the fighting is over, we may again have a feeling of self- superiority. How shall we truly and rightly give thanks to the Lord for “all his benefits” ? First, we must realize our utter dependence upon His grace. There are rewards for faithful Christian service. There are times when we have a right to feel grateful to the Lord for working through us in the saving of souls in His good purposes. There are other times when the Lord blesses us in such a way as to cause the deepest huhiiliation and the purest grati tude. All of Grace An experience came to me sometime ago which, in principle, is similar to many experiences of all the saints. For months and years I had wrestled with the Lord over a certain difficulty. I had sought to engage in activities which would help to bring to pass the answer to the
“Always rejoice; ceaselessly pray; in every thing give thanks; this indeed is the will of God in Christ for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18, from original Greek). I once preached a Thanksgiving sermon on *the text, “God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men.” Or, as it might be literally translated, “ I thank Thee that I am not like the rest of mankind” (Luke 18:11). “The Wrong Kind of Thanksgiving” was, of course, my theme. We love to sing: “Count your blessings, name them one by one And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” This is a blessed hymn. May nothing in this article spoil it for anyone. The thought is thoroughly Scriptural. However, sometimes when we think we are counting blessings from the Lord, we actually fall into a way of counting our own achievements. One has heard the familiar words in prayer, "and we shall be careful to give Thee all the praise,” accompanied by self-praise to such an extent that it might be supposed that the per- son praying was composing his own obituary. The words, “I am satisfied with Jesus,” in a testimony, can be ac companied by an unconscious expression implying, “and I am well pleased with myself also!” Definite Thanks * Another false form of thanksgiving may be ex
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker