Day 8: Give thanks to God

Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

10 Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
12 He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
13 Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.[a]
His faithful love endures forever.
14 He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
16 Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.

17 Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
18 He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
21 God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
22 a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.

I recently created a spiritual diagnosis that I think sometimes fits the body of Christ when we begin to lose our confidence. Sometimes it isn’t that the enemy is playing with our emotions, sometimes we just get what I like to call “Christian Amnesia”.

We forget the things that God has brought us from. We forget that moment that He saved us when we were in sin and weren’t even looking to be His faithful follower. We forget that moment that He paid that bill supernaturally and provided for our families. We forget that time that we were believing for a new job that we weren't even qualified for and God turned it around in our favor. We just forget.

The one thing about Christian Amnesia is that it spreads like wildfire. You begin to look at your situation, try to carnally figure out how it is going to change or get better, and then begin to think of two things: One, how much you can try on your own strength and resources to change it, and two, what bad thing will happen to you if you can’t use your own strength and resources to change it. Both of the thoughts send you spiralling into a whole movie of options for your future with this obstacle in front of you.

We love to quote Jeremiah 29:11, but when we are looking at how jacked up our situation is, we can’t see any plans that look like our future will be prosperous. Then we tumble down from there. The further we run down the rabbit hole, the more depleted our confidence becomes. Remember, we give glory to God for everything that we receive as an inheritance through Jesus Christ. We give God the glory because our confidence is in Christ, not in ourselves. Yet, when Christian Amnesia hits, it always seems like these principles are so far from our minds. We immediately feel like we have to do it ourselves. Looking at how weak we are, ruins our confidence even more.

The only way to cure Christian Amnesia is to have a “Give thanks” session with yourself. A “Give Thanks” session is a whole moment with God, where you remember everything that He has supernaturally provided for you in the past.

The disciples that followed Jesus even got a cool case of Christian Amnesia once before. In Mark chapter 6, Jesus does the miracle of multiplication with fish and bread to feed 5,000 men plus their wives and children. Then He turns around with another miracle and feeds 4,000 men plus their wives and children in Mark chapter 8 starting with verse 1. Just a few hops down the road in Mark 8:16 the disciples are having an argument with each other about the fact that someone forgot to bring bread for them to eat on their trip.

If that ain’t the worse case of Christian Amnesia, I don’t know what is! They literally have helped distribute fish and bread that they watched Jesus multiply with His own hands on two separate occasions within the last few weeks. In addition to the fact that they left with an abundance of leftovers in tupperware after each buffet experience?! Yet, it takes them only minutes to start bickering over who was supposed to pick up the panera bagels for the company picnic. Jesus simply replied in verse 21 of that chapter “Don’t you understand yet?”

He was trying to get them to remember that He was the bread of life. He was all they would EVER need. He was their confidence for anything that they had to face or go through.

That is the reminder that God wants to constantly give us. When we have our “Give Thanks” session like David is having in this Psalm, strolling down the memory lane of God’s goodness and provision, we are reminded why we have confidence in Christ. We are reminded that like the Israelites in the illustration that David is using, our enemies are nothing compared to the strong hand of God. The Israelites are reminded when looking back that God will provide even in the wilderness like He did by raining down manna from the sky every morning. The Israelites had their confidence strengthened as they remembered how God gave them victory over battles to win the promised land. David was curing his Christian Amnesia at this moment.

In order to boost our confidence in Christ, we must kill our Christian Amnesia. Take the time this morning to have a “Give Thanks” session and fill in the blanks of David’s Psalm, but with your own testimony of God’s faithful love. Let today be resounded in the eternal joy of your salvation of your soul!

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to God who ________________
His faithful love endures forever.
3Give thanks to God who ________________

His faithful love endures forever.
4Give thanks to God who ________________
His faithful love endures forever.
5Give thanks to God who ________________
His faithful love endures forever...

And so on and so forth until you have killed your Christian Amnesia and restored your confidence in what Christ will do through you, because of what He has already done in and of Himself!