“And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth.” Isaiah 12:45

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth’ the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.”  Psalm 95:1-5

In everything give Him thanks, give Him thanks
In everything give Him thanks
In the good times praise His Name
In the bad times do the same
In everything give the King of Kings all the thanks

(Ron Kenoly, “In Everything Give Thanks”)

Isaiah recalls the story of Abraham for God’s people to remind them to be strong and cling to God’s promise even when facing Babylonian captivity.  Abraham was alone in a strange land when the Lord pointed him to the abundance of stars in the sky, and said so shall your offspring be.  And so it was and is. Abraham believed God. When God lights the candle of faith, none can blow it out. God reminds his people in tribulation that he is faithful to his promise. The Christian may justly say, “I can trust him in my present condition, and I can trust him for the time to come.”

Because the Lord is God, and our God, we can rejoice in hard, challenging times. In verse 3, the Lord speaks of his people in the difficult times: “Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.”

One who is joyful can never be miserable, for joy enlarges the soul. When is one most joyful, but in a state of thankfulness? And what makes us so thankful as to consider the wonderful salvation God has given in Christ with the promise of eternal life, along with the glory that God is leading us step by step?  Even if we stumble, he lifts, prods, and pulls us along until we reach eternal glory!  For these thoughts alone, I am eternally grateful and full of praise for the One and Only who saved us and made us whole—in good times and bad.

Isaiah 51, The Message

Committed to Seeking God

^1-3 “Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living
    and committed to seeking God.
Ponder the rock from which you were cut,
    the quarry from which you were dug.
Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,
    and Sarah, who bore you.
Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,
    but once I blessed him, he multiplied.
Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,
    comfort all her mounds of ruins.
I’ll transform her dead ground into Eden,
    her moonscape into the garden of God,
A place filled with exuberance and laughter,
    thankful voices and melodic songs.

^4-6 “Pay attention, my people.
    Listen to me, nations.
Revelation flows from me.
    My decisions light up the world.
My deliverance arrives on the run,
    my salvation right on time.
    I’ll bring justice to the peoples.
Even faraway islands will look to me
    and take hope in my saving power.
Look up at the skies,
    ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like work pants,
    and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
    my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.

^7-8 “Listen now, you who know right from wrong,
    you who hold my teaching inside you:
Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked
    don’t let it get you down.
Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,
    from brains that are termite-ridden,
But my setting-things-right lasts,
    my salvation goes on and on and on.”

^9-11 Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!
    Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.
Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab,
    dispatch the old chaos-dragon?
And didn’t you once dry up the sea,
    the powerful waters of the deep,
And then made the bottom of the ocean a road
    for the redeemed to walk across?
In the same way God’s ransomed will come back,
    come back to Zion cheering, shouting,
Joy eternal wreathing their heads,
    exuberant ecstasies transporting them—
    and not a sign of moans or groans.

What Are You Afraid of—or Who?

^12-16 “I, I’m the One comforting you.
    What are you afraid of—or who?
Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead?
    Some poor wretch destined for dust?
You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you,
    who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.
And here you are, quaking like an aspen
    before the tantrums of a tyrant
    who thinks he can kick down the world.
But what will come of the tantrums?
    The victims will be released before you know it.
They’re not going to die.
    They’re not even going to go hungry.
For I am God, your very own God,
    who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,
    named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
I teach you how to talk, word by word,
    and personally watch over you,
Even while I’m unfurling the skies,
    setting earth on solid foundations,
    and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!’”

^17-20 So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!
    Up on your feet, Jerusalem!
You’ve drunk the cup God handed you,
    the strong drink of his anger.
You drank it down to the last drop,
    staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.
And nobody to help you home,
    no one among your friends or children
    to take you by the hand and put you in bed.
You’ve been hit with a double dose of trouble
    —does anyone care?
Assault and battery, hunger and death
    —will anyone comfort?
Your sons and daughters have passed out,
    strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,
Sleeping off the strong drink of God’s anger,
    the rage of your God.

^21-23 Therefore listen, please,
    you with your splitting headaches,
You who are nursing the hangovers
    that didn’t come from drinking wine.
Your Master, your God, has something to say,
    your God has taken up his people’s case:
“Look, I’ve taken back the drink that sent you reeling.
    No more drinking from that jug of my anger!
I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,
    ‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’
And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,
    you were the dirt under their feet.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Nothing escapes the notice of God.  God is God, our God.  No one else is God.

And in those dark hours when there’s no one around
And Satan tries to tell you that God has let you down
In every dark hour the best thing I have found
Is to give God the thanks
For He has never, He has never failed me yet
So why should I start now to worry or fret

In everything, in everything I won’t ever forget to give God the thanks
In everything give Him thanks, give Him thanks.
In everything give Him thanks. we’ve got to give Him thanks

In the good times praise His Name
In the bad times, do the same
In everything give the King of Kings all the thanks

In my trials, and in my test
When I’ve tried and I know I’ve done my best
In everything I’ll give the King of Kings all the thanks!

In Jesus Name, I pray, Amen