Give Thanks

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29 NIV)

This Sunday we sing the worship song “Give Thanks” during communion. It is especially appropriate to “Give Thanks” as we celebrate the meal together that Christ blessed and whose gift of love we remember. Notice also the lyric that says “let the weak say ‘I am strong’”—it reminds me of a line from the childhood song “Jesus Loves Me” . . . “they are weak but he is strong . . .”

“Human-made religions center on what people can do for their god. But Christianity centers on what God has done for us. He gives us His Son, as a continual source of comfort and freedom, even when we have nothing to offer in return. To receive Him, we only need to let go of trying to save ourselves and rely on Him alone to save us.

This requires admitting our weaknesses and allowing God to use them to show Himself strong. That’s humbling! And oh how we fight it. We want to be loved for being so good, not for being so needy. Yet God knows this is exactly what we are. Instead of being put off by our inabilities, He encourages us to come to Him. He knows that only people who have come to the end of themselves rely on Him. God has a limitless supply of hope and strength for people who recognize their need. No matter now ‘poor’ we may feel, we are the richest people in the world, all because of what the Lord has done for us. For this we give thanks.”¹

1. Carsten, Debbie. Open the Eyes of My Heart: Daily Devotions. (Brentwood, TN: Integrity Publishers, 2002.) Pg. 181.

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks unto the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks unto the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

(Henry Smith)