All the Blessings
Giving Thanks for the Good We’ve Received
As the anticipatory organ chords unfold, and the Edge starts to play that familiar arpeggiated guitar part – the stage and stadium lights pulsing along with the excitement of the gathered people – I can make out Bono, center stage with arms and head arched toward the sky, speaking into the microphone. He’s seems to be reciting something. It sounds like something spiritual. It feels like something of a prayer. Amidst the noise of the music and the crowd, I can only decipher parts of it – “…can I give…God…blessings…salvation…our Father…my heart…” – before the band launches full-tilt into Where the Streets Have No Name, taking its fans to the next level as the Spirit walks through the room.
It was, in a word, magical. For me, almost heavenly.
It wasn’t long after that I discovered Bono was indeed reciting a prayer that night (and every night on the tour as they began Streets), taken almost directly out of the Bible’s book of Psalms (literally prayers/songs). In fact, he was paraphrasing a section of Psalm 116, using the psalmist’s words as a type of invocation itself:
What can I give back to God for the blessings He’s poured out on me?
What can I give back to God for the blessings He’s poured out on me?
I lift high the cup of salvation as a toast to our Father,
following through on the promise I made to Him.
Hear my heart.
For Bono, who had committed years earlier to returning to Africa with a plan to help the poor of that continent (see The One Campaign for how that unfolded), these borrowed words were something of a faith manifesto – all at once his personal testimony, lament, praise, and pledge. For me, they were catalyzing. The psalmist’s words resonated deep within my heart, becoming somewhat of a rallying cry. Not only did they inform my way of thinking, seeing, and engaging the world, but they also fostered a posture I’d adopt in my own day-to-day regular life. A posture of thanks. Of gratitude.
See, what the psalmist (and Bono) touched in me is the reality that – regardless of my current circumstances, ongoing challenges, or even the painful moments in my past – I too have been blessed in countless ways. I too have much – so much – to be thankful for. I too have been provided for, protected, supported, surrounded, and carried in ways big and small – and well beyond measure. If I will just pause to reflect and to actually see it.
What can I give back to God, indeed.
One of the ways this manifests, well over 20 year later, is that on regular occasions – usually as I sit down to study the Bible or pray with my journal in hand – I take that pause, looking over my life and considering not what I’m lacking but rather what I have. And then I simply write the phrase, “Thank You,” across the top of the page and list out all that I’m grateful for that day. In that moment. Whether it’s the myriad things I have to be thankful for or the blessings I see that I've received by God’s good and gracious hand.
Toward that end, Jesus’s own brother, James, once wrote, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.” From his vantage point (and I think it’s a good one), all the good things in our lives, from possessions and circumstances to relationships and events, are quite literally gifts to us from the hand of God – this same God who created the stars in the sky, and all that is and lives under them. Ultimately, whether we see it or not, it’s our Creator who pours out goodness and kindness upon us. Day in and day out.
Frankly, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by thankfulness when I think about it that way. When I consider the wonders His hands have wrought, as the hymn-writer once penned.
Which brings me back to my list… Some days, it’s quite long. Others, it’s much shorter in length. But honestly, I can’t ever recall a time when I’ve had nothing at all to put on it. When there’s been a blank page. There’s always something to write down. There’s always something to be grateful for. And that’s part of the lesson.
Perhaps it’s even the lesson.
So, on this Thanksgiving Day, 2024, I share my list with you below – in hopes that it might encourage you to reflect on all the good and perfect things that have come to you by God’s good hand.
Grace and peace to you, friends,
RT
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THANKSGIVING 2024 | THANK YOU, GOD:
(In no particular order)
This day / life
Good sleep overnight
Christmas lights and trees are up!
Strong coffee (good coffee)
Sourdough toast with butter
Warm house on a cold day
Fireplace
My family and how much we love each other
Daisy, the best dog ever
Good family friends, like the Bermels
Men in my life (CS, PB, JE, RP, JB, DM, RS, BR, Frat, etc.)
“Old friends” like Rob, Chris, and Mark, etc.
Wheaton Academy
Isabel & acting
Aidan & baseball
Eoin & music
Janel & cooking/baking
Kids’ friends
Golf
Baseball
Music
Improving health
Exercise!
Continued provision while unemployed
Janel’s work
Stocks, IRAs and savings
Our home
Our rental property
Telluride and Elantra
Our church and its leaders
The music team at church
Leading worship
BMW, the band
Guitar! And bass!
Healing and transformation over the years
Salvation & continued growth
God’s presence & speaking
God’s word/s & promises
Christmas season
Handel’s Messiah
AMEN.
Hey I made the list