Thankful Thursday - Psalm 145

My bible reading this morning included Psalm 145 and couldn't think of a better way to honor the Lord with thanksgiving this morning.  Here it is - take a moment to read through it and then look at all the things that we have to be thankful for!

¹ I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
⁴ One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
⁶ Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
⁷ They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
 ⁸ The LORD is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
⁹ The LORD is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
¹⁰ All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power;
¹² To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of^]Your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
 ¹⁴ The LORD sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
¹⁶ You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
 ¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
²⁰ The LORD keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

So - here is my list of all the things in this passage that I have to be thankful for:

God's Greatness

God's Mighty Acts

The Splendor of His Majesty

His Wonderful Works and Awesome Acts

His Abundant Goodness

His Righteousness

His Gracious, Merciful Lovingkindness

His Power

He Sustains Me

He Nourishes Me

He Restores Me

He Satisfies Me

He is Righteous, Kind and He is Near

He Fulfills My Desires

He Saves Me

He Keeps Me

Verse 21 says, "My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord."  When you look over that list, it is not hard to imagine why!  I am not a "pollyanna", although I am optimistic.  I do see the needs, hurts and injustices around me.  I feel the pain of those who are lost and searching.  It would be easy to lose hope . . . but then I am reminded of God's character, His power and His desire to be my Father.  I have experienced Him being every one of the things listed in this Psalm.  He has performed mighty acts on my behalf.  I have been a witness to His greatness and the splendor of His majesty.  I have experienced His abundant goodness and been touched by His Righteousness.  He has been gracious, merciful and lovingly kind to me.  He sustains me, nourishes me, satisfies me and oh, how He has restored me.  I have known Him to be Righteous, Kind and so very Near.  He fulfills all my desires.  He has saved me and He promises to keep me for eternity.  

Now - that is something to be thankful for!