Returned Thanks

Psalm 21 

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

²You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

³For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

⁴He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.

⁵His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

⁶For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

⁸Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.

⁹You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.

¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man.

¹¹Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

¹²For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.

¹³Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.

In Psalm 20 we heard David lift up an upcoming battle before the Lord asking for strength and victory. He worshiped God in anticipation of what God would pour out upon him and his people. Now, in Psalm 21 we experience the words of worship and praise brought before the Lord as He has indeed provided the victory that David sought. What I see this morning is a reminder that sometimes I forget the second part of the equation. After God has given me the victory or the blessings, I forget to give Him thanks for what He has done.

I learned at my parents’ knee that you always prayed before you ate – every time. It was a great habit to have instilled in my life. Then, when I met my husband and his family, I learned some more of the tradition. They always “returned thanks” as well. This was a prayer that was supposed to be said at the end of the meal. That wasn’t quite how they practiced the tradition though. They said the before meal prayer followed immediately by the after meal prayer. Both were said at the beginning. Ritualistically, we always said, “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed” before the meal. The returned thanks prayer was a recitation of Psalm 106:1, “O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever.” While I was taken with the concept, I was not particularly impressed by the execution. But to give credit where credit is due, the idea was solid.

How often are we forgetful of that “returned thanks” when it comes to recognizing what God has done for us? I fear that all too often we grab up the bountiful blessing and head off on our merry way. Remembering to give God thanksgiving and worship for what He has given is a valuable practice – but that is what it take – practice. I personally have to be very intentional about that habit or it slides away from me. That doesn’t mean I’m not grateful. I am. But perhaps I could be a little more intentional and vocal about it. We have so much to be grateful for and I’m not only talking about food here. I believe that every day we need to thank God that we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We can never forget to “return thanks” for what He has already done to secure our salvation. That sin of complacency can snatch away our gratitude just like it does everything else.

Lord, I am so very thankful all of the abundant blessings You have poured into my life. The overriding need in my life is for a Savior and I praise You that this need has been met in the person of Jesus Christ. Help me to forever praise Your name for this precious gift. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.