How do you thank God when you emerge from the storm? What if thankful is not just something we feel, but it is something we do?
How do we express thanks to God in a tangible way? It could be a health storm. A financial storm. A relational storm. Some of you are right now in the middle of it. God has a way of getting us through storms. The Psalmist said it this way.
Psalm 116:12 (NIRV)
12 The Lord has been so good to me!
How can I ever pay him back?
If you are entering the storm or right in the middle of it, God can be trusted in the storm. We see three different experiences in the storm.
1. Lord, I'm in a real mess!
Psalm 116:3 (NIRV)
3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me.
The horrors of the grave came over me.
The horrors of the grave came over me.
I was overcome by sadness and sorrow.
It was like a drag net for fish. It was designed for animals like deer. That's where the Psalmist was.
The Psalmist says that I really need you to know how bad off I was. But with God's help, he came through it.
Psalm 116:4 (NIRV)
4 Then I called out to the Lord.
I cried out, “Lord, save me!”
I cried out, “Lord, save me!”
This is a simple prayer. He prayed it like a drowning man. A merciful God moved toward Him to save him.
2. Lord, you rescued me from a real mess.
Psalm 116:5 (NIRV)
5 The Lord is holy and kind.
Our God is full of tender love.
Our God is full of tender love.
There is an aspect of our God which is wildly generous. The Psalmist is now coaching people who are in the middle of their own storm.
Psalm 116:7 (NIRV)
7 I said to myself, “Be calm.
The Lord has been good to me.”
The Psalmist breathed out. Whew! That was close!
Psalm 116:8-9 (NIRV)
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have dried the tears from my eyes.
You have dried the tears from my eyes.
You have kept me from tripping and falling.
9 So now I can enjoy life here with you
while I’m still living.
The Psalmist says that I got my life back. I got snatched back from death!
3. Lord, I am expressing thanks for my rescue.
Psalm 116:13-14 (NIRV)
13 I will bring an offering of wine to the Lord
and thank him for saving me.
and thank him for saving me.
I will worship him.
14 In front of all the Lord’s people,
I will do what I promised him.
The Psalmist is about to offer a thank offering of wine. He traveled from his home town to Jerusalem, and entered the temple to thank God in front of everyone for taking him through the storm.
He takes the wine and pours it out on the ground. How do we imitate this?
A. I say something.
B. I do something.
When God gets you through a storm, say something that credits God for His goodness.
Faith is intensely personal, but that doesn't mean that it's private.
Go public with your praise. For no other reason than to tell people in the storm that God can be trusted in the storm. You don't try to pay back the full amount for what you have received.
Offer a Thanksgiving Offering: Something simple. Something small. Something soon.
We are not immune to tragedy. Don't you want to thank God for his protection? Don't you want to pause for a moment? Do you want to give something away over the top?
Let's get in the habit of thanking God when we find ourselves overwhelmingly blessed.
Can I pray for you? I give thanks for you.
(To God)) God, you have been merciful to me. You love to bring us through a storm.
(To You)I pray for you if you are in a storm. We believe that you will emerge.
Notes taken from Jeff Manion, Willowcreek Church Guest Speaker
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