Don’t Wait – You Need to Thank and Praise God Now
I’ve heard people say, “When I get to heaven . . . have I got some questions for God!” It’s typically said in a tone of voice that gives the message—God’s got some ‘splainin’ to do!
When I tend to think about seeing the Lord face to face for the first time…
Wow, I can only imagine!
Paul wrote…
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Those words follow his verses on love.
Love is patient and kind…
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
When you and I are in the presence of God’s perfect love—nothing else will matter. When we see the “big picture” of God’s love with complete clarity, I believe we will simply fall before Him in worship that flows from hearts full of gratitude and praise.
And I think it’s the thought of God’s unfailing and undeserved love that inspired David to write Psalm 65…
What mighty praise, O God,
Psalm 65:1–4
belongs to You in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to You,
for You answer our prayers.
All of us must come to You.
Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
You forgive them all.
What joy for those You choose to bring near,
those who live in Your holy courts.
The vows David was referencing were promises to thank and praise God for answering his prayers. Especially his prayers asking for forgiveness.
I can be so quick to go to God with my requests but I wonder how often I run back to Him with worship and praise when He lovingly grants my requests.
- I ask Him for forgiveness but do I daily thank Him for that forgiveness?
- I ask Him for protection but do I fail to notice the countless times He does?
- I ask Him for healing but do I focus more on the times He says “no” or “not now” than on the times health is restored?
- I ask Him to bless my day but do I keep a record of the countless things He does to bless me?
Wow, that’s a humbling list.
I don’t think I’ll be asking the Lord to explain anything when I see Him face to face . . . I imagine that I will be too busy thanking and praising Him.
I don’t want to wait until heaven. I want to faithfully thank and praise Him now.
God is worthy! He always has been and He always will be.
David wrote…
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
Psalm 65:11–13
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!
And those are just a few of the many reasons we have to thank and praise God.
He is the Creator and Sustainer of the World.
This is what the Lord says—
Isaiah 45:12
I am the One who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands, I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
He is Savior, Alpha and Omega . . . He will come again.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God.
Revelation 1:8
“I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
He is our Advocate, Spirit of Truth, and Comforter.
The Father . . . will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.
John 14:16–17
He is love.
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:10
Yes, He is worthy of our thanks and praise now and forever!
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Thank and Praise God
Father, I thank and praise You for who You are and for all the amazing things You do for me each day. First, I want to thank You for Jesus who made it possible for me to live forever in Your loving presence. I thank You for Your Spirit who gives me faith and guides me according to Your will. I thank You for Your Inspired Word that teaches me Your truth.
Thank you for providing for me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Thank you for forgiving me and please help me to forgive those You place around me. Thank you for never leaving or forsaking me and for helping me carry my burdens. Thank you for giving me freedom from fear and peace for each moment. Thank you for helping me fight my battles and for giving me hope.
Most of all I thank You for Your grace, mercy, and love. Thank you for promising me an everlasting home with You in glory. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
When you don’t understand God’s why . . . trust His love and anticipate the future with hope remembering that when we stand before Him face to face there will be no need for explanations only days to thank and praise Him with great joy.
May the Lord bless you today, tomorrow, and always.
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Deb, this is such a wonderful reminder to us all. I love the check points you listed and I am going to copy them and keep them on my desk as a reminder to me every day, and evening. My sister and I were just having this conversation this morning and when I read you post, there is was too.
Gratitude to our Lord and praise to Him is essential to our growth as Christians. I have thought about what I will do when I see God face to face in Heaven. I know I will be in such awe and adoration, I probably won’t be able to utter a word. That is unusual for me. I always seem to have lots of words!! Just to be in his Holy presence. Wow!! I can only imagine!!
Thanking God and praising Him all of the time. I know that what ever I go through, God has it all worked out for the good. Just being patient and waiting, I always see the good in the long run. God is not some “bottle Jeannie” who is going to answer all of our prayers and requests the way we want. And that is something to be really thankful for!!!
I pray that you have a wonderful weekend and I pray God’s continued blessing on you and your family. Love Hugs to you sweet friend.
Good morning dear friend! Your words just leapt off the page, right into my heart! I too, most times, have a lot to say, but sometimes I am so in “awe” of God, that I am rendered totally speechless! There are no words to describe or explain the “AWE” that is ascribed to the
King of the Universe, the Father of the entire universe! And true, if God were a jeanie in a bottle and permitted our every request, why would we need faith and trust and hope and even fervent prayers? Blessings for a peaceful and joyful weekend in awe of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord over all! I don’t know how far apart we live, but i know we see the light of the same sun and the soft glow of the same moon! That is the “awe” of our God! Close in Him always, we are, dear friend!
Kathy, you have the most wonderful poetic way with the way you express your emotions and innermost being. I know that God has rendered you that talent. All our gifts are from God. Amen! I love all that you wrote to Deb this morning.
I know that God has his special way of bringing people into our lives and friendships (even at a distance) that encourage, and lift us up in His name. I love our “sisterhood” and it makes my day to hear from you. I am in Georgia and I know you said you are in Tennessee. But, as you said, we have the same sun and moon and stars and beautiful white clouds with crystal blue skies. Cool rains and warm days as well. It is such an uplifter to have a good friend and friends on this website. And, Lord bless Deb for making it so for all of us. I hope that you have a great weekend and stay safe. God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good!
And you are blessed with a talent in expressing yourself also! And your in Georgia! Wow! So we are neighbors after all! Bet it is really hot there today! Been through Georgia many times on the way to the beach! And yes, God does have a way of blessing us with those who were once strangers, and yet they become so near and dear to our hearts! God blesses us in such great ways when we least expect it, but He knows we need it! Thank You so much too for your sympathetic words about losing my mom and dad. It was the hardest and longest time of grieve I have ever endured to date. Part of me died with them and if one could die from a broken heart, I wouldn’t be here now.
But mercifully God got me through and after several long years of just going through the motions, He brought me back to life and living. I’m sure all of us could talk for days about our heartaches and sorrows. I think everyones life is a story worth writing, if we could only put it all into words! I will close for now sweet Sue, and look forward to sharing more in the days and Deb’s devotions ahead! Have a blessed and safe weekend and may we remain steadfast in our “awe” of God! Love and hugs for a beautiful day!
I love this, Sue! I agree, I’ve always got plenty of words but I have a feeling that seeing Jesus face to face will flatten me. I am so very overwhelmed with gratitude for His grace, mercy, and love. So blessed that He has allowed me to KNOW, TRUST, and LOVE Him. God bless you, my friend!
Amen Deb! Deut. 29:29) The secret things belongs unto the Lord Our God… Not now, not ever, does God have to “splain” anything to anyone! I think to even have that thought would be a sin that requires true repentance! My first thought of being in Heaven and seeing my Holy and Sovereign Father God, is to jump into His powerful and mighty arms and cry my weight in tears of joys that He saw fit to save my unworthy and sinful soul, that He mercifully brought me through all the battles of this broken and evil world and blessed me, small and damaged and inadequate me, to even make it into Heaven! And how can we can ever praise God enough! If I could do nothing but praise God with every thought I have for the rest of my life, it would still never be enough! And yet, should that still not be my goal? How I long and yearn when all I have to do, when all that will ever be required of me ever again, is to praise my Father God! The Psalms are full of instructions of how to praise and why we should praise…and if we know God at all, how can we not praise Him? Oh, dear friends and sisters, even in the midst of all the horrific abominations that daily depress me and cause me such spiritual anger “my cup still runneth over!” I can still taste and see that the Lord is good!
Psalm 146:2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto God while I have any being.
Psalm 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord, PRAISE YE THE LORD.
May we all praise the Lord with our every breath! Joyful praises for the blessings of Deb and being able to praise our Holy Father in unison, with such dear faithful and believing friends! Love to all!
What a beautiful image you paint of seeing our Lord face to face for the first time. I have so very many things for which I want to thank and praise Him. It will take me always and forever to truly thank Him for His grace, mercy, and love. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Blessings and hugs!
Every single, solitary day, we should be about the business of giving thanks and praise to God.
Have a blessed weekend, Deb!
Amen Martha! Loved the emphatic way you said it!! You are so totally right!
Amen and amen, Martha! Every day a day of thanks and praise. He is worthy! Blessings!
That you Deb wants again for such beautiful words and prayers of inspiration. I feel the same way why would we dare ask God for splaining after all he does for us. He is almighty for bringing us into this world and all his creation’s. This was a great reminder to me that I need to thank and glorify him more and more for all his blessings. I can’t imagine what it is like being in heaven to see his beauty and I too would hug him for being with him and all the Saints and Angels.
Thank you Lord Savior for giving the opportunity to be in this prayer group so I can continue to love and glorify you every day.
Have a wonderful weekend Deb and all the ladies in this prayer group.????
Such sweet and heartfelt words, Ana! It is so wonderful to be able to share Deb’s uplifting devotions with everyone. I always look forward to reading and drawing closer to everyone through our comments. It is so good to be with like minded people and a caring little community that we are! Have a wonderful weekend and may God bless you and your home with all joy!
Thank you, Ana! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend. We are so blessed by your words of faith and encouragement! Blessings!