Still trying to figure out what God wants from you? It’s simple!
By Dean Collins
He doesn’t want your cows; he has herds and herds of them. In fact, he may have put some on your land to feed for him. He’s not looking for your land, either; that’s a tenant arrangement according to anything we’ve been told. And trying to put enough in the offering plate to prove you are good enough or doing God a favor won’t accomplish what you hoped it would.
So what do you do to get God’s attention? There must be something he wants from you. Actually there are a couple of things; expressing your gratitude and faithful obedience. Psalm 50 indicates that God basically rejects everything else we might offer. God isn’t like the family member you can never figure out what to get for Christmas. They might appear to have everything, but the truth is they are as bankrupt as the rest of us. God is the one who truly doesn’t need anything from us.
Grateful for what he has given
He created everything. Psalm 50 begins by declaring how all of the beautiful things we see came straight from his voice. God is neither needy for stuff nor ever hungry. He is Creator and Giver of life and everything we can see and imagine. What gives him joy is simply to hear that we are grateful and then to pass along his love and kindness to others.
When our plate is filled and overflowing, we are to offer thanksgiving.
When times are tough yet we are still alive, we are to offer thanksgiving.
In fact when times seem to be the worst, we are told to offer thanksgiving and then cry out for help and God will deliver. Thankful hearts move God toward us.
Grateful hearts also bring glory to God. It isn’t the great job you did yesterday or that you went to church 52 Sundays last year. With the pandemic we would have all been in trouble if church attendance was the ticket to pleasing God. I can’t write enough devotionals to please God, and whatever dutiful checklist you have and finish every day won’t do it, either.
Stirring his heart—and ours
Could it really be this simple? If you consider the Psalms, the prophets, and the example of the apostles it appears that gratitude is central to our connection with God. Grateful hearts stir God’s heart every time.
Our gratitude likely will change us as well. Grateful hearts will move us to love our neighbors, write checks to bless others, prompt acts of kindness, and even give us courage to tell someone about Jesus and what he has done for us. Everything worth anything starts with a heart of gratitude.
It’s time to stop trying to do enough or be enough to get God’s attention. What he desires most is simply to hear pure and simple gratitude that flows from our hearts, through our lips. Gratitude changes everything.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 50:8-11, 14-15, 23; Hebrews 13:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
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