from thinking to thanking

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 (6:28 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

I love You. With all the (way too many) thoughts I had all night long, I wish I had come out here much sooner and just said that to You straight out. Instead, I tossed. I turned. I twisted. I rolled. But far more than that, I thought and contemplated (profoundly and at length). My thoughts projected hours, days, even weeks into the future. Sadly Lord. None of my thinking turned into thanking until just now.

Lord, You are so good. So holy. Thank You that You love us so much. Thank You that just now when trying to find a certain song that just started singing to me, I found it on the very first attempt.

♫Ohh praise Him! Ohh praise Him! He is Holy! He is Holy! Turn your ear To Heaven and hear The noise inside The sound of angels’ awe The sound of angels’ songs And all this for a King We could join and sing “All to Christ our King!”♫

Lord, I confess to some dizziness I’ve been feeling the last few days and a bit of a headache that keeps trying to gain my attention. I keep ignoring them Lord. Hoping they’ll just go away. Rather than pushing them aside Lord, would You please teach me how to embrace them that I would learn whatever it is that You may be wanting me to know? Make me aware. Alert. Yes Lord, keep me alert to the things You want me to know!

(9:44 a.m.)

Mm. Most Blessed Father, how I thank You for sticking with me as my thoughts continue flitting around. You keep drawing me back to Your Word, to Your promises. Your ‘source of hope’. Mm. Thank You Lord!

Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians ‘to commend the believers there for their trust in You, to encourage them to continue trusting him and to reassure them that Christ would return.’ I read the page of introduction to this book in my Life Recovery Bible and I see traces of Your faithfulness to Your people.

Paul, Silas and Timothy first traveled to Thessalonica on their second missionary journey. “Many people there who had worshiped idols turned their lives over to God, and for this Paul commended them. The believers in Thessalonica had gone from a life of dependency upon material things and empty ritual to a life of serving the living and true God.”

Uh. Hello, God? I long to be that devoted to You!

In chapter two, verse 4 Paul wrote, “For we speak as messengers from God, trusted by Him to tell the truth; we change His message not one bit to suit the taste of those who hear it; for we serve God alone, who examines our hearts’ deepest thoughts.” Oh, yes Lord. I want to be consistent with Your Word!

‘But wait! There’s more!’ Further along in verse 13, “And we never stop thanking God for this: that when we preached to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own, but you accepted what we said as the very Word of God – which, of course, it was – and it changed your lives when you believed it.” Oh most Holy God, I want lives to be changed because I would know how to share Your Word accurately with others!

And now, as my time here with You has to come to a close, how I thank You for one more little glimpse of Your gentleness. This little reminder of Your leading me in The Bible Handbook. An entry regarding 1 Thessalonians 2:13 entitled simply, “Thanksgiving”. Perfect Lord! You are indeed perfect.

Thank You for taking me from thinking to thanking! I love You. Amen.

(625 words ~ 10:14 a.m.)