The mother cried out, “Thank God!” as she learned that her children had escaped harm in the car crash that could have been fatal. The family sighed, “Thank God!” when they learned that Grandpa and Grandma had been spared from the tornado that roared past their home. Such dire situations, where loss of life has been miraculously prevented, speedily produce a “Thank God!” Yet “ordinary” miracles are provided by God every day and go without comment from heart or mouth. You are alive, today! You can breathe! The cupboard and/or freezer have much inside! The car runs! The electricity is on! Such things happen daily.
Sinful pride engendered by Satan makes us think that such small things are somehow our “right” and are guaranteed to us. After all, “We are good, and the world revolves around us.” It’s not just the youngster who receives a package in the mail and childishly does not so much as acknowledge to the sender that it has arrived or respond with a word of thanks. Youngsters need heartfelt training from Dad and Mom—not just an iron fist—to learn these things. Adults are much the same. A compliment that the lawn looks good is met with the inner thought, “You better say that,” or with words, “I put a lot of work into that”; but no simple, humble “Thank you!”
Humility and thanksgiving go together. It’s difficult to muster up a “thank you,” be it verbal or in writing, when the gift is considered minimal, and “not so much” in comparison with what the person thinks he should get. “Hmmph. Why say thanks?” If gifts are “deserved” then they really are not gifts at all!
This same thinking carries into the spiritual realm. It’s easy to assume, “God owes me.” “God owes me good weather, happy times, healthy children, an easy job, mercy and pardon. Look at all I do for Him—maybe not at church, but in my life.” It is self-righteousness, is it not?
You are not the cause of your own blessings. The truth is, you are His, each day, purely by His grace/gift in Christ—trespasses forgiven, all charges dropped! Why does He do it? Because His Son walked the last mile for you into death. Jesus’ battle and victory against that wolf in sheep’s clothing, against viral sin, against inevitable death, is your victory. Jesus has won your pardon. His bursting forth from the grave gives to you life eternal instead of eternal death. His comfort, in life and in death, is a precious gift to be admired every day. “Thank God!” Why should it take a near disaster to squeeze out, “Thank God”?
The word disaster is noteworthy—”dis” + “aster.” “Aster” is the Greek word for “star.” A “dis”-“aster” is a harsh event that happens (supposedly) because the “stars” are in “dis”-array!
No such thing! Dear Christian, take heart! Christ is your “Bright and Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16). Jesus, your Savior from sin, is the Star promised from Jacob’s line (Numbers 24:17). He is holding you safe in every little detail every day, miraculously leading you closer to Him forever. Each day “disaster” is turned away from those in Christ the Savior! “Thank God!”
“Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)
is pastor of Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church in Lemmon, South Dakota.
