APRIL 16, 2012
A Heart Of Gratitude
Read: Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. —Psalm 19:1
My boyhood hero was American frontiersman Davy Crockett.
In the book David Crockett: His Life and Adventures, Davy
encounters a beautiful sight that causes him to launch into
praise to the Creator. The writer describes it this way: “Just
beyond the grove there was another expanse of treeless
prairie, so rich, so beautiful, so brilliant with flowers, that
even Colonel Crockett, all unaccustomed as he was to the
devotional mood, reined in his horse, and gazing entranced
upon the landscape, exclaimed, ‘O God, what a world of beauty
hast Thou made for man! And yet how poorly does he requite
Thee for it! He does not even repay Thee with gratitude.’”
Crockett recognized that the Creator’s handiwork demands a
response of thankfulness—a response that is often neglected
or ignored.
The psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). God’s
handiwork is a spectacle that, rightly understood, should not
only take our breath away but should inspire us to worship
and praise our God as it did the psalmist.
Davy Crockett was right—encountering the wonders of God’s
creation should inspire, at the least, a heart of gratitude. Are
we grateful?
Across the expanse God stretched out His creation—
Established the stars, gave the earth its foundation;
His strength claims our worship, His power our fear;
Yet Calvary’s cross sets us free to draw near. —Gustafson
God’s glory shines through His creation.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
