Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s close our week of giving thanks by cultivating a forever regimen of thanking God.

Today’s scripture, Psalms 79:13 (NLT) proclaims…
[13] Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.

Consider…
Gospel Artist Jason Nelson sings an encouraging song with the lyrics…

God says I’ll be committed to you
I’ll never leave you
Nothing in this world could make me
Walk away
No matter what lies may bring
I’ll be by your side
No matter what you face
You won’t be lonely

Because forever is a long time
That’s how long I’ll love you
That’s how long I’ll love you
Forever
Forever is a long time
That’s how long I’ll love you
That’s how long I’ll love you
Forever

No matter what life may bring
I’ll be by your side
No matter what you face
You won’t be lonely
And this is my promise to you
My love is everlasting
You can count on me
To be there always

Forever is a long time
And that’s how long I’ll love you
That’s how long I’ll love you
Forever
Somebody needs to know forever is a long time
And that’s how long I’ll love you
That’s how long I’ll love you
Forever

These lyrics echo Jesus’ promise to be with us forever (Matthew 28:20)

They also make me think of Hebrews 13:5-6 (NLT) that tells us…
[5] Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” [6] So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

And while searching for that scripture which bears witness to God’s forever commitment to us, I also found Psalms 138:8 (NLT)…
[8] The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Have you ever thought about God’s faithful enduring love for you? More specifically do you appreciate that His faithful love is based on who He is rather than what you do for Him? 2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT) comes to mind. It says…
[13] If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

This means that regardless of how we are to Him, He remains faithful to us. Or said despite how we fail Him, He will never fail us. That’s why we should testify with Psalms 63:3-4 (NLT)…
[3] Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! [4] I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

Yesterday I wrote about regularly thanking God with JOY for others He has placed in our lives. Today, I want to raise the bar to having an overall and everlasting attitude of gratitude to God.

I like the way Ricky Dillard describes the grateful reflective attitude we should always have for God. His lyrics say…
I’ve got an attitude,
of gratitude,
I am so grateful for the things that You’ve done
I’ve got an attitude,
of gratitude,
I am so grateful for the victories You’ve won
When I think about,
what You’ve done for me
How You saved my soul,
died on Calvary
I’m grateful,
I’m grateful,
I’m grateful to—— You Lord!

Remember Paul’s testimony to his fellow laborers for the gospel? He wrote in Philippians 1:3 (NLT)
[3] Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Well I believe it’s also appropriate to thank God for who He is everytime we think of Him.

Like Shane and Shane sings…

When I think about the Lord
How He saved me, how He raised me
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost
Healed me to the uttermost
When I think about the Lord
How He picked me up, turned me around
How He set my feet on solid ground

And it makes me wanna shout

Alleluia, thank You, Jesus
Lord, You’re worthy of all the glory
And all the honor, and all the praise

When’s the last time you thanked God for being God?

I strongly encourage us to practice thanking God for who He is regularly, since it’s what we spend eternity doing.

In Revelation 7:9-12 (KJV), John describes…
[9] After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [10] and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. [11] And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, [12] saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

It’s this eternal attitude of gratitude that the Holy Spirit is telling us to continually express every moment of our lives.

And when I see THANKSGIVING in the middle of our expressions of adoration to God in verse 12, I hear Charles Hayes’s lyrics…

Everyday is a day of thanksgiving
God’s been so good to me
Everyday He’s blessing me
Everyday is a day of thanksgiving
Take the time to glorify the Lord today

He keeps blessing me, blessing me
He opens my eyes that I might see
He keeps blessing me, blessing me
Blessing me
Take the time to glorify the Lord today

I want to close, but the Holy Spirit just keeps running the faithful enduring unfailing love of God through my mind. That’s such a humbling and sobering realization that God’s love never ends.

In fact I love the renewing nature of God’s love described in Lamentations 3:21-25 (ERV)…
[21] But then I think about this, and I have hope: [22] We are still alive because the LORD’s faithful love never ends. [23] Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal! [24] I say to myself, “The LORD is my God, and I trust him.” [25] The LORD is good to those who wait for him. He is good to those who look for him.

I could go on and on, but Psalms 136:1 (NLT) sums up the message the Holy Spirit has given me to share today. The Psalmist says…
[1] Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

We should thank God for as long as His loves endures.

The Holy Spirit gave me a bonus thought, by way of Oxford Languages definitions. According to OL, forever means…

1. for all future time; for always.
2. continually.

Thus, we should always love, appreciate and thank God continually. That means we should never ever stop thanking God, which seems appropriate since He never ever stops loving us.

Today’s Song is…
I Just Wanna Praise You

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)