Give Thanks in the Desert

Reading: Deut. 8:1-5; Psalm 42

Meditation:   Nurturing Genuine Thankfulness in the Desert

–      Not everyone is happy about everything in their life right now. How do we give thanks when things aren’t going well?
–      The hard times are hard. Don’t minimize that for yourself or others. The desert is dry and it’s difficult to find food and water. It’s hot and dusty and miserable.
–      But God is in the desert too. And for those who have spent time there, there is a kind of beauty that can be found nowhere else. Beauty above, Beauty below, Beauty before, Beauty behind, Everywhere is beauty (Navajo poem).
–      Israel was in the desert, yet Israel was with God. Even the difficulties turned out to be God’s way of refining his people, helping them understand and embrace their dependence on him.
–      Even through the desert, God helped them in ways they might not have noticed: their feet didn’t get swollen, their clothes didn’t wear out!
–      In our deserts God is helping us grow spiritually and personally. He’s helping us in ways we might not even know or notice.
–      David, in the desert, anguished and wondered where God was in all this(1-2). Joy was only a memory for him (4). He was depressed and didn’t understand why (5).
–      David chooses to remember God’s goodness to Him in the past (6). How God met him in the depths before (7), protected him through the night (8).
–      His memories don’t make his current difficulties go away. But He knows where his hope lies: His hope is in God.
–      When we go through our deserts, and hear the taunts of others, or of our inner voice, when we get down and depressed, not understanding why, not knowing what to do, remember God’s goodness.
–      If nothing else, we can know that hope is possible and be thankful for that.
–      We can find hope, not in our ability to climb out of the pit, but in God’s desire and power to pull us out – in His time, in His way. When his purposes for us are complete.
–      We thank God in the desert, not by denying how bad things really are, but by remembering and believing that no matter how bad it gets, God is bigger, His love is bigger, He is with us, will never leave us, and even at it’s worst, with God’s help, the desert will only end up making us stronger.
–      And we can know that the desert is only for a little while. God leads will lead us to his promised land, because He always keeps His promises.

Giving Thanks in the Promised Land

Reading: Deut. 8:6-18; Psalm 16

Meditation:   Nurturing Genuine Thanks in the Promised Land

–      At first glance being thankful when everything is going well would seem natural. Too bad it isn’t!
–      When things go well we soon start to expect it to be this way, to believe that we deserve it like this.
–      Like Israel, we need the warning “Be careful” when we’ve got it good. Be careful not to forget God. Be careful that we don’t forget to show the gratitude of obedience.
–      Be careful to remember who gives us all these good things, Who rescued us from slavery, Who was with us as He led us through those desert experiences we’ve all had.
–      Be careful not to forget the lessons learned in the desert–lessons God taught us.
–      Remember where we get our ability to earn what we think is “all ours.” Remember that the abilities we have God gives to confirm His covenant with us.
–      Remember and thank God for His goodness, for His abundant blessings, for His faithfulness, for His love.

Psalm 16

–      Remember God is good, nothing is good unless it comes from Him (2)
–      Remember who it is that assigns us our “portion and cup” who makes our “lot secure” (5)
–      When the “boundary lines” of our lives “fall in pleasant places” for us, and give us a “delightful inheritance” thank God! (6)
–      When God guides and counsels us and makes us unshakeable (7-8), thank Him.
–      When we remember that God will never abandon us to the grave, (10) or even in it, be glad, rejoice and let your body rest in that security (9)
–      Remember where we’re going! Remember the joy we will find in God’s presence! Remember the never ending pleasures we’ll find when we enter the Promised Land of Heaven!
–      Remember and give thanks! God is good!