Alpha and Omega
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks! Tell the Lord how thankful you are for His goodness! Don’t start with focusing on the things He has done for you, start with simply Who He is! He is worthy of all of your praise! He is a great and glorious God. He is the Creator of all things. He is life. He is light. He is the way. Before He takes even the slightest action to intervene in your life, He is!
Everything in scripture, everything you see God do in your own life, has one purpose; to allow you to know the goodness of God. His goodness and His love are beyond compare, beyond a measure of value, and beyond what we can thank Him for. Think about this, the Levites, an entire tribe of the nation of Israel, were designated to serve, worship, and thank God. If it were possible for every one of us to do nothing else in our lives but stand at the altar and thank God for who He is, we would not be “over-doing it.”
Then, to take you even beyond the intensity of the worship due Him in Old Testament times, Christ came and ransomed your life! Paul put a right perspective on our worship when he told us to do everything as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23) You may not be able to physically stand at the altar all day, every day, but your heart can be there as you do everything as unto Him!
There are two hundred and fifty-six names in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ. No single name could express all that He is! He is Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8), Author of Life (Acts 3:15), Bright and Morning Star (Rev. 22:16), Christ (Matt. 1:16), Good Shepherd (John 10:14), Holy and Righteous One (Acts 3:14), I Am (John 8:58), King of Kings (Rev. 19:16), Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5), Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16), Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6), Rabbi (John 1:38), True Vine (John 15:1), Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6), Word of God (Rev. 19:13).
If you don’t see reasons in your life to be thankful, set your eyes on Him. Refocus the lens of your heart. He is worthy!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are infinite, limitless. Your holiness is beyond what I can fathom. When Isaiah had a clear vision of You, he saw the stark contrast between his own uncleanliness and Your unapproachable greatness. He could only cry out, “Woe is me!” All of creation, from vast landscapes to the tiniest details of life, speaks of Your majesty. There is no end to Your beauty, no end to the reasons for my heart to love You. I stand with the Psalmist and say, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Further Reading: Psalms 100:4-5, Psalms 30:4, Psalms 107:1, Colossians 3:15-17, Isaiah 6, Psalm 19