You’re a filthy ingrate. No seriously, I mean it. And if you don’t think you are, then you’re an even filthier ingrate.
I bet your first thought when you woke up this morning wasn’t gratitude. I bet your first instinct wasn’t to rejoice and be glad in the day that the LORD has made. You probably complained to yourself about how tired you were. Or how busy you were. Or how stressed you were.
How dare you? Really. Do you realize how absurd that is? When you lie down and sleep, the only reason you ever wake again is because the LORD sustains you.
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me” (Psalm 3:5).
There’s no excuse for your first thought not to be intense gratitude. Do you think you deserved to wake up? You fell asleep much like Lazarus. And like Lazarus, you depend entirely on God to wake you up.
Still your soul. Calm and quiet it. When’s the last time you tried to count your blessings? Count every good and perfect gift from above. Don’t stop at the clichés. Yes, you have a roof over your head and probably know where your next meal is coming from. But dig deeper. Take nothing for granted. Presume absolutely nothing.
Every breath you take is a miracle. You can try to utter thanksgiving for those breaths, but you’ll only end up using more oxygen. Your heart will likely beat somewhere around 100,000 times today. Are you prepared to give thanks for the 2,000 gallons of blood that your heart pumped to breathe life into your frame today? You are hopelessly in debt to the lifter of your head.
Your cup runneth over — in more ways than you can ever hope to count. If it doesn’t feel like it, blame yourself. You’re objectively wrong. Follow David’s example. Ask your soul why it’s cast down. Take dominion. Command your soul to bless the LORD. Remind your soul to forget not all his benefits.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
When you wake up and open your eyes, acknowledge that you are blinded by light. You are deafened by joy. You are drowning in mercy. You are suffocating in grace. You deserve abundant death, but wake to find abundant life. You ought to be a slave, but you’re a son. By all rights, you’re a child of wrath, but instead “the lines have fallen for you in pleasant places; indeed, you have a beautiful inheritance" (Psalm 16:6).
Don’t be a filthy ingrate. Take a deep breath, and give thanks for it. Feel your heart beat, and forget not.