No matter our circumstances in any given moment or season, the Lord empowers us with the grace to choose. Even though much of life is outside our control we can still decide how we respond. And the decisions we make will forge the pathway of the kind of life we will live. A couple of years ago I was struck by four decisions listed at the opening of a familiar Psalm that brought a much-needed fresh perspective. Read the first two verses from Psalm 9:1-2 and notice the four “I will” statements:

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High (Psalm 9:1-2 ESV).

What’s interesting about Psalm 9 is that it is closely linked to Psalm 10. In fact, these two psalms form what’s called an acrostic, where each line begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet and is meant to be read as one complete psalm. But what is more striking is that Psalm 9 is a song of thanksgiving for past deliverance while Psalm 10 is a lament prayer longing for a future rescue. So being read together, the whole psalm begins with declaring thanksgiving and ends with an expression of trust. This reveals to us how thanksgiving and lament, joy and sorrow often go hand-in-hand in life. Yet these first two verses set the tone and establish a trajectory for us to live by.

What if, this Thanksgiving week, we began to lay hold of the grace God empowers us with to make these four decisions? No doubt it would be transformative as the Lord began to do a new work in and through you. Here are these four life-transforming decisions we can begin to make every day, along with four ways to pray them into action.

1. You CAN Give Thanks to the Lord with Your Whole Heart

Revelation and thanksgiving go hand -in-hand: Whenever God reveals Himself, which He has especially done through His inspired word, thanksgiving is always a fitting response. The more you know God, the more thankful you ought to become.

Revelation and thanksgiving go hand -in-hand: Whenever God reveals Himself, which He has especially done through His inspired word, thanksgiving is always a fitting response. The more you know God, the more thankful you ought to become.

The psalmist, likely David here, is talking about a kind of thanksgiving that holds nothing back, exercises no restraint, and is no-holds-barred, uninhibited, and exuberant.

The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “If ever our heart is whole and wholly occupied with one thing it should be when we are praising the Lord.”

“If ever our heart is whole and wholly occupied with one thing it should be when we are praising the Lord.” (Charles Spurgeon)

So what does wholehearted thanksgiving look like?

To wholly express thanksgiving we ought to do it holistically, which can be seen in the three dimensions of past, present, and future. Take some moments to prayerfully express thanksgiving in these three ways.

• Looking Back: Reflecting on what God has done.
• Looking Around: Paying attention to what’s happening in this present moment and circumstance and noticing how God is at work. Thanksgiving fuels our appreciation for what God has done and fosters gratitude for what He is doing right here, right now.
• Looking Forward: Refreshing the living hope we have that Jesus is our victor and is faithful to fulfill all His promises. God’s faithfulness fuels our thankfulness.

2. You CAN Remember All of God’s Wonderful Deeds

Remembering and thanksgiving go hand-in-hand. Take time to remember the great moments in your life with God. What are your milestones? Remember them. Celebrate them. Share them. So often we forget what we should remember and remember what we should forget. The idea here is to intentionally build a habit of refreshing your mind with thoughts of what God has done.

If you are feeling discouraged today, it’s because you have lost perspective. Remembering what God has done is a proven pathway to help you regain perspective. Remembering is like shining a light that pierces the darkness of our discouragement and lifts our heads to see the Lord at work all around us and within us.

Remembering what God has done is a proven pathway to help you regain perspective.

It has been my practice for the past several months to end my days by prayerfully reflecting on the ways the Lord was at work. As I express gratitude, my heart is encouraged, my perspective is refreshed, and I have found that remembering God’s wonderful deeds leads to the best kind of rest.

3. You CAN Be Glad and Exult in Christ

We must always seek to contrast the uncertainty of our circumstances with the unchanging character of God. According to Psalm 9:7, we need to have a “But the LORD…” in our hearts.

If you took a minute to read through all of Psalm 9 and ponder how it reveals God’s praiseworthy attributes, gladness would begin to incubate at the soul level. Look at Psalm 9:9-10…

“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”

Aren’t you glad that you can seek the Lord and know His name? Aren’t you glad that He does not forsake those who seek Him? You can always be glad no matter your circumstance if your gaze is upon God. And the fullness of God is seen most powerfully in the face of Christ.

You can always be glad no matter your circumstance if your gaze is upon God. And the fullness of God is seen most powerfully in the face of Christ.

4. You CAN Sing Praises to the Name of the Most High

Music is one of the most powerful modes of communication. Remember—Psalm 9 was a song. Music makes truth stick and is one of the most effective ways to hide the Word of God in our hearts. Verse 11 puts it this way:

“Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!

Tell among the peoples his deeds!”

By singing, we elevate what we love and declare what we most value. I love the old adage that is attributed to fourth-century North African Bishop Augustine of Hippo, who said, “They who sing pray twice.” This next week, don’t just listen to worship music—participate by “pray-singing” in joyful response to the revealed truth of God’s beautiful character.

As you think back through these four grace-empowered decisions, you can see how they overlap and fuel one another. If you begin making these decisions today, I trust that the Lord will direct your week with a renewed awareness of His presence, a refreshed perspective, and a deepened joy that will reflect the character of our Savior.

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