The Easiest Way To Glorify God
Fanny Crosby wrote over 8,000 hymns, including “Praise Him, Praise Him” and “To God be the Glory”.
Before he was 20, Charles Spurgeon had preached over 600 times. He read 6 books per week and could recall what he had read and locate it, even years later. He started a pastors’ college that trained nearly 900 students during his lifetime. He’s estimated to have preached to 10,000,000 people (The Reformed Reader). He answered 500 letters a week.
John Wesley rose at 4 a.m., traveled constantly, usually on horseback, formed societies, commissioned preachers, oversaw charities, and even wrote hymns, including O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.
Did these folks ever cut their grass? Did they ever have to clean their gutters? And really – 500 letters a week! I can barely keep up with a few emails each day. And I don’t even want to talk about guys like John Piper, who’s probably written 3 books in the time it’s taken me to do this post.
Fortunately, we don’t have to be giants of the faith to glorify God. It’s pretty simple actually.
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me (PS 50.23).
What could be easier? We can glorify God by giving thanks. But how does gratefulness honor the Lord?
Thankfulness shows we appreciate God’s costly mercy in saving us.
We were blind and dead in our sins, under God’s wrath, slaves of sin and Satan, without hope or God, and unable to save ourselves, when Jesus came down, suffered brutal torture, holy wrath and death to rescue us and bring us to God. How can we not be thankful?
If for no other reason other than the fact that he saved us, we should overflow with gratitude all the days of our lives. Even if God never gave us another blessing in this life, we should be eternally thankful.
Thankfulness shows we appreciate God’s abundant goodness and generosity.
By thanking God, we’re acknowledging that all we have comes from him, that he’s the giver of every good gift. That he’s a generous God. That Christ is our fountain of blessings, spiritual and material.
Thankfulness shows what a wonderful Master we serve.
Our local hospital is consistently voted one of the best places to work in PA, a reflection of the CEO and President, who is a Christian. The cheerful service of the folks at Indiana Regional Medical Center shows what a great boss they have.
When unbelievers see sour, dour, down-in-the-mouth Christians, they must wonder what kind of Master they have who makes their lives so miserable. Believers should be the most thankful, cheerful people on earth, so that everyone can see what a wonderful Master we serve.
Even when we suffer painful trials we can thank Jesus for his death, love and mercy, and that our sovereign Savior will ultimately bring glory and good from our trials.
Can you add some other ways thankfulness glorifies God?
photo by Domesticated Diva
Posted in Thankfulness
July 10th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I’ll have to disagree with you on being giants of the faith. We DO have to be giants of the faith to glorify God. We just don’t have to write 10,000 words a minute. We can be giants in God’s eyes without having to be giants in our own eyes.
Remember the woman who gave the mite.
As far as reasons to be thankful… Psalm 100:4: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
Think of the last time you were thankful for someone else. Did you get any closer to that person?
Thankfulness is how we get closer to God.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:48 am
When I am thankful to God, I am reminded in His goodness in my times of trial. Recalling the MANY things I that I have and am thankful for can overshadow fear and anxiety in a trial. Thankfulness spurs me on to trusting God more, submitting to Him more and rejoicing in Him more, thus bringing Him glory.
It is important to remember that all those great people you mentioned were specifically given spiritual gifts in those areas. I am reminded that though I find myself lacking, I should come to God as I am, knowing nothing I do will on my own strength will make Him love me more. He has given me gifts in sharing my praises to Him as well.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Hey Marshall,
Thanks for commenting. I really like what you said about the woman and her mite and thanking God for others!
Hi Diana,
Thanks for your comments too - especially that thankfulness can overshadow fear and anxiety and spur us on to trusting God more - excellent!
July 11th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I’m thankful for contentment. I’m thankful that God lead us to Indiana, PA to worship and be under such God honoring leadership. I’m thankful for a Godly and wise wife who would put up with me for 37 years.
Now go mow your grass!!
July 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Hey Mark!
Thank you for this. The first thing I thought when I read the title was that you were going to share some type of duty- something we must do but instead it’s about positioning our hearts towards God which God gives us grace to do. That is what I think is most incredible about the article. God wants us to not merely act (read, write, share, etc.) but to believe in our hearts and be thankful for His Grace. It’s all about Him and not about me! That’s really really encouraging. I can ask God to help me be more thankful! That’s really freeing to me.
THANKS!
Your adopted daughter (hehe)
Trill.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Hey Fredokie,
I’m thankful for YOU and your wonderful wife! I don’t know why God has been so good to me to bring you guys into our church.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Hey Trill,
Thanks for your comments! There really is so much grace to be thankful for. I like that you said “I can ask God to help me be more thankful.” That’s so good - whatever God commands, we can ask him for the grace to do.
July 13th, 2008 at 1:49 am
I love what you have to say in this post, but it’s sometimes hard to put into practice when everything around you seems to be falling apart. How are we supposed to be genuine about our thankfulness when so much is going on and Satan is clouding our vision of God??
-Bee-
July 14th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Hi Bee,
Great question. The Psalms acknowledge that we can be experiencing horrible pain and even express that to the Lord. David tells God that it seems like he’s forsaken him, that David is drenching his couch with tears, etc. Yet almost all of these Psalms end with some kind of statement of faith in the Lord’s goodness or mercy. So we can tell the Lord how we’re feeling, yet still thank him for those things he has revealed as true, e.g. that he is good, loving, sovereign, kind, and merciful. We can thank him for his life and his death for us.
All our suffering does not erase the fact that he has paid for our sins, forgiven us, adopted us, given us eternal life, etc. All our pain doesn’t change the fact that he’s still loving and good, and we can thank him for that.
I believe we can still be genuinely thankful to God, even in pain. That does not mean that it is easy to do that. This is what it means to fight the good fight of faith.
Thank you for your question, Bee. I know you’re not the only one who would wrestle with this. And I know that Jesus will never forsake you.