“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him, and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4) This verse was cited by Pastor Sam Law recently in his “Weekly Devotional”: Gratitude is the prescription for us to enter God’s presence, and God lives where He is acknowledged.

I recently saw a news report about a famous member of the American women’s soccer team. In her last game before retiring, she suffered an injury from a fall and had to leave the playing field just six minutes into the game. Her playing career is over. When interviewed by reporters about her injury, she said: “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn’t.” It reminds me of what Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin had commented during his space flight in the 1960s: “I don’t see any God up here.”

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had a different take after they landed on the moon for the first time. The first thing Buzz Aldrin did on the moon was to observe the Lord’s Supper in memory of the Lord, and he offered up his thanksgiving. He also read from John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” Thank God!
May God give us a grateful heart to never forget about His grace. Martin Luther wrote in one of his books, Table Talk: “The greater God’s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.” May God help us not forget about His grace when things are going smoothly and well in our lives, and may He also help us keep our hearts grateful when we face difficult circumstances, suffering, or illness.

Many times, God allows us to face trials as training exercises for us to experience His presence or for our spiritual growth. There is an old hymn (“Refine Me More,” Jiaosheng #162) and the chorus goes: “Every blow I receive is a real benefit. If You take away something, You replace it with Yourself.”

May we encourage and remind each other, and may God grant us a heart of wisdom, that we can see God’s wisdom during the journey of our lives. Regardless of good or bad things we may encounter, we can always see God’s loving hand behind them, and experience His unfailing love.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” (Psalm 29:2)
May God be glorified! (Translation by Bob Tang)