From the Pulpit: Thankfulness refreshes my heart
Feeling grumpy? Sometimes it seems like the face of Grumpy, one of the seven dwarfs from the classic Snow White, is tattooed on my heart. From the actions and words of another person or the circumstances of governments and nature we can experience a hardening of our hearts. Sometimes it is our own poor choices that take us to that place of hardness. We see all through the Christian scriptures that sin has the power to harden our hearts.
Do we just frown it out and settle in places that ultimately rob us of joy? Or is there something we can do about it? Penned by King David, Psalm 95 reminds us that we have a choice when it comes to the hardness of our hearts. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (v7-8). David reminds his readers to not respond to God’s voice as they did when they were in the wilderness, leaving behind their captivity in Egypt and heading to the promised land.
Do you keep looking to the past, the “good old days” and wish they would come back? Do you look to the future and fear that good days are gone? A hard heart is unable to hear the voice of God very well. This season invites us to be grateful and I believe that is the answer to a hard heart. Thankfulness refreshes my heart. It can soften yours.
David encourages us in Psalm 95 to position ourselves in God’s presence. This is one of the best ways to hear God’s voice. Do you spend time with God’s people in places of worship? We have a lot of great churches in the Brandon Valley area that would enjoy the opportunity to host you as they enter God’s presence in worship.
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:1–3). A grateful heart and a joyful noise can soften our hearts and position us for hearing God’s voice. It would be very difficult to sing and have a grumpy heart. I can attest that there is not much in this world that beats the grumps out of my heart more than God’s voice and singing God’s praise.
