My title for this devotion is God-speak vs Me-Speak.
Okay, so it is Friday, November 29, 2019. Thanksgiving Day is over. Many spent the day enjoying family; laughing and joking; playing games; most importantly, speaking gratitude to God for His grace, goodness and provision. Words of good. Words of gratitude. Words of praise. And rightly so.
But those good words should not end-neither for God nor for others. But for many they will. It is like a switch is flipped the day after Thanksgiving which says, “Okay, that’s enough!” If only we could learn more completely that gratitude should be a part of us, something that flows from our heart, joints, ligaments and out of our mouth. Words.
That is why my Scripture reading hit me this morning with full force.
Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the wise man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’ (Jer.9:23-24)
We have spent this past week hopefully in gratitude to a magnificent, awesome God. Why stop? Why suddenly be self-centered? Rude? Self-enamored? All about me?
“Father, may my heart and may my speech be filled with gratitude to You. May it continue on and not end just because Thanksgiving Day is over. May my speech be God-speak and not Me-speak.”
B, Great follow-up post to Thanksgiving… And you are right, the gratitude, the heart of thankfulness should not end. There is no reason for the mind to suddenly switch.
The Christmas season is indeed upon us now. Let us not become self-absorbed… but instead dispense the light that has been given to us in this season and throughout the year.
Great post-Thanksgiving post, Bill. EVERY day should be a THANKS-GIVING day!
Good word, Bill.
To boast in anything that we have is ignorance. As David wrote, “All good things come from your hand”.
All we have is a gift from God and it belongs to Him. We are merely blessed managers of His grace.
Thanks for the reminder. I love that verse. Such Truth and wisdom in boasting in knowing our Father!!!
May we live every day with gratitude in our hearts to God for His goodness and mercy, giving thanks in all things, even when it’s hard to give thanks for them.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, Bill!
Blessings!