By Colleen
Foy
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the
spirit.” Proverbs 15:13
How often do I feel like David
calling out to God to hear my cries and rescue me from my inner turmoil, only
to realize at the end of my conversation with Him, I am thanking and praising
God for His goodness and faithfulness towards me. David cries out, “Save me, O
God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods
engulf me. I am worn out calling for
help; my throat is parched. My eyes
fail, looking for my God. I am in pain
and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hoof.
The poor will see and be glad- you who seek God, may your hearts live! The Lord hears the needy and does not
despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all
that move in them, for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess
it; the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name
will dwell there.” (Psalm 69:1-3,29-36 NIV)
Sometimes the moments that are the
source of my anguish are just those moments that bring me closer and closer to
God. In Psalm 30:11-12, David
proclaims, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and
clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.”
Heartache and sadness can crush
the spirit and make one weary. At times like these, writing a gratitude list
can bring me around to be thankful for all of the blessings God has bestowed
upon me. I am so grateful for my salvation, that Jesus Christ gave His life for
me, so that my sins are forgiven and I now have eternal life with God. This is
how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world
that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We love because he first loved us.”(1 John
4:9-10,19 NIV) In Isaiah 65:1, God states, “I was found by people who were not
looking for me. I showed myself to
those who were not asking for me.” His
ultimate sacrifice is the greatest love that there is, that even if I were the
only one on earth, He would still lay His life down for me. What greater love is there than the love
Jesus has for all of us?
It’s no wonder that many times
throughout the Bible, David is praising God with thanksgiving. In David’s psalm
of Thanks in (1 Chronicles 16:8-13 NIV), “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his
name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful
acts. Glory in his holy name; let the
hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always. Remember the
wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced O
descendents of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.”
When God has been so good to us,
it is hard not to share with others what God has brought about. God wants to
bless all those He loves, and bless them abundantly. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.”
Heartache can crush the spirit,
but I have learned first hand that gratitude can make my heart happy. I am so grateful that I can run to God in my
despair and He can turn my tears into laughter and joy and make my face
cheerful and glad. We can be like David, who sings in Psalm 100:4-5, “Enter his
gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and
praise his name. For the Lord is good and his loves endures forever; his
faithfulness continues through all generations.” What a magnificent promise
that is for all of us to embrace.”
I have
learned to love my Savior,
And I
trust Him more each day;
For no
matter what the trial,
He will
always be my stay.- Hess
______________
Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984
International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by
permission of International Bible Society.
Copyright © 2004 by Colleen Foy. All rights reserved.