Do you ever wonder why beautiful birds play and sing? It isn’t really because, as Karen Carpenter’s brilliant and idyllic lyricist in the song, Close to You, suggests, because her lover is near. It’s because God is near. God made birds with unique and lovely noises to both communicate, and in their own way, bring praise to God. It even delights us if we stop to listen and we don’t even know what they are saying to one another.
If aliens were to come and watch us engage with one another, would their own perceptions be as keen as to the joy in God’s people? Would praise and mirth be upon our lips? This is a good question, at least for me, since I love laughing and being silly praising God all day long. Theoretically speaking anyway.
In the reality of life, I am busy and sometimes I mistakenly think I am far too busy to stop and consider God. One of the things I am “busy” doing is worrying and another is mentally writing and editing my to-do list, sometimes it’s caring for others to the exclusion of sitting at Jesus’ feet just like Martha did in the Bible, and sometimes it’s that I simply forgot. In our Bible verse today, this lack of thankfulness and praise bothered Jesus greatly.
“He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him –and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:16-18
We all know it wasn’t the point that this foreigner was loved any less, or less intrinsically deserving of the release from disease that bothered Jesus. It was that someone who didn’t even have a relationship with God, didn’t know Him as His father even, took the time to thank Him, while His own spiritual sons didn’t do the same. Ouch. That really hurts and reminds me of how when we were kids, we more than likely snapped at our own parents even though they were the givers of life to us, while our teachers and coaches got our very best. My kids do the very same with me sometimes.
Do you think this ever happens to you in your relationship with God? I know it does for me, and that’s why when I pray, I have come up with the THRIVE format so I can glorify God at the end of it, with the acronym letter, “V” for value the things you have already been given and thank God for them. I simply forget to do this otherwise and as much as it may appear on social media that I am very thankful (and I hope it does), I too can do better with this and often forget to praise my Father. I too, knowing that we likely don’t have aliens surveying us to learn about our culture know that we indeed are being watched carefully by unbelievers and others of the faith to see how we respond to God and we can offer a blessing to them and a witness if we are reminded of that.
Sometimes moms are so busy or stressed that it causes us to feel resentful, jealous, hurt, angry, and for any of those reasons or a host of others, to grow distant to God Unfortunately, He’s the very one who is the healer and giver of healthy and positive perspective, endurance and love for the long haul, so it’s the very worst thing we can do. Even if we don’t feel we have reason to thank God for things, we still can.
In my favorite missionary true story, The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, her sister, who is stuck in the Nazi concentration camp with Corrie, tells her to thank God even for the fleas that bit them up each night, since God said to be thankful in and for all things. This radical moment was a test in Corrie’s faith and she found herself resenting it naturally. However, later in the story, she and her sister were completely blessed to find that the guards didn’t want anything to do with their flea-infested barracks, so they were able to have a regular church service and time of encouragement during the most horrific of times.
Even though your own struggles are difficult to bear, God loves when you both trust Him during the trial, and especially to see you rise up and celebrate each feat with him as your prayers are answered. You may think you will praise Him later when you really “arrive” but the truth is, there is no full sense of arrival until Heaven. Here on earth, especially for nurturers maybe, there will always be work to be done, and arrival and thankfulness are not the only partners. Let’s remember to thank God in the trials, to thank God after the trials, and to thank God so that He gets that beautiful song not just from the birds, but from his lovely and thankful daughters made in His image also and even more.
Just For You
This week, set a reminder on your phone or in your calendar to worship and praise God. It may be that you decide to set apart time in the car, time at night, or if you are the mom of littles, time with them, since they are almost always underfoot. Don’t put “must-haves” on your worship time, like the perfect song or the perfect silence or exercise or snack regime. God loves praise even if you are in the line at the DMV, though in this case it should probably be in your head and not aloud!
If you haven’t already done so, begin a legacy journal for your family with the children, something that could even be passed down for generations. Have the kids narrate or write down their own praise reports to God in it too, and invite your husband and other family generations to do so with you from time to time. This praise journal can help the family to more boldly approach God’s throne with their requests, remembering just how many of their family and individual prayers have been answered. God adores this praise and will surely bless your family for remembering to say “Thank you” to your Father and giver of so many wonderful gifts!
Prayer Time
Dear Lord,
Today I sit in Your splendor for a moment and just praise You. I find that the fleeting moments and worries, hopes, desires and chores don’t stop unless I intentionally sit with You, listening to Your voice, Your gift of silence now (rare in my world now), and Your wonderful blessings all around me. I bask in Your affection and enjoy knowing I am Your daughter, that I can ask You for anything and You will accomplish it or something even better for me, something only You know is the best thing. I give You my praise now, for all things in my life, and ask that You would enjoy many sweet melodies that come from me.
Love,
Me