O Give Thanks

How many times have you looked up into the heavens and thanked the Lord for that giant buck you just killed? Thanking our God for any success in the field is something all of us sportsmen should do consistently. Just having the opportunity to go afield period these days is worth thanking the Lord for. I would like to tell you a little tip bit from the words of a little seven-year-old girl during one of our youth hunts I filmed this year. She had just taken her first buck and during the after hunt interview she thanked the ones that meant the most to her. Her dad, a pastor friend of mine, asked her, “Whom do you need to thank for making this happen?” She simply replied, “I want to thank Bro. Mark (myself) and God.” We have had a ball with this because she didn’t thank her own dad, who spent hours with her shooting her gun and other preparations that were made to get her ready for the hunt. She never mentioned the guy who invited her on the hunt in the first place, Bro. Kerry of Hunting the Dream. She just thanked the Lord and me.

Like that little girl, we to often forget or fail to thank the ones in our lives that are so important to us. As kids, we disregard all that our parents are doing or have done for us through the years. As husbands, we overlook all that our wives have put up with and still are putting up with today. I could go on and on naming the people in my life that I fail to thank. During this Thanksgiving season let us NOT fail to remember all who have been a blessing to us in someway or another. But, also like that little girl, put the Lord at the top of that list in which you need to thank.

Psalms 136:1-9,26 O Give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of gods; for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth forever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth forever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth forever. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth forever. The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth forever. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

The psalmist pretty much here thanks the Lord for everything. He thanks the Lord for His Goodness. He thanks the Lord for His Greatness. He thanks the Lord for His Gifts to us. He then thanks the Lord for many other things in this psalm and finally thanks Him for simply being God. We have so much to be thankful for. No matter how bad the cards have been dealt to you this past year, look to God and be thankful. Notice the one phrase that resonates throughout this entire psalm: “For His mercy endureth for ever.” No matter what we have or do not have, we all deserve a lot less. It is by His mercy and His grace that we have anything at all. So please take heed the psalmist’s words here, “O Give Thanks unto the LORD”, first and for most. Then thank all of the people in your life that has been a blessing to you. I will guarantee you will be blessed and will be a blessing in doing so.

God Bless and Happy Hunting.

Posted by Mark Newell