Thankfulness at Midnight

       Can you imagine? You’ve finally hit the sheets after a tough day, hoping for some respite from your stresses, your anxieties, your conflicts, possibly some physical pain. Yet, as so often happens when sleep doesn’t come swiftly, you lie awake. Have you ever noticed that a bad tooth, e.g., can feel worse when you try to go to sleep? As your mind flits from one stray thought to another, often this is precisely when our conscience brings to mind all sorts of things.

       The psalmist lets us glimpse the fact that often his bed was anything but a place for sleep. Psalm 6.6 says, “I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” Yet, as was so typical of David, it was then that his thoughts would begin to focus on his God. In Psalm 63.6, he says, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” How often do we allow the pressures and pains of this world to squeeze out the very words on which the Lord would have us meditate?

       But then, in Psalm 119.62, David takes this conscious thought to an extraordinary prompt of praise & gratitude to God: “At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.” (emphasis mine).  The Message translation highlights just how remarkable the psalmist’s response is: “I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your decisions are so right, so true—I can't wait till morning!” David was so moved by thoughts of his God that his only option was to get up in the middle of the night and express his gratefulness to God!

       Notice that he did not wait until Sunday worship service, or even the mid-week prayer gathering. And he definitely did not wait for a convenient Thanksgiving holiday to roll around. No, he immediately got up (“I rise”) and expressed to his Lord exactly how filled with gratitude he was. Knowing David, he probably sang and danced exuberantly around his palace bedroom, not really caring what others might think! And, by the way, the word “laws” (“decisions”) is one of the many words used for God’s revealed Word. In other words, David was excited about (“so right, so true”) God’s laws and, yes, His rules & regulations!  He’s not rejoicing about some miracle or unexpected bonus; simply God’s instruction to him and his people.

       I have to confess that its been a long time since I got up out of my bed in the middle of the night for the sole purpose of praising & thanking God. Oh, I might pray for Him to bring relief to some overpowering pain, or to let me get to sleep, after wrestling with an uncooperative body for hours… but to get out of bed just to thank Him for revealing His Word to me? That is a staggering thought! What self-centered creations we are!

       I urge you right now—not on New Year’s Day—to determine to start cultivating a thankful, grateful heart. As the month of November heralds our annual “day” of Thanksgiving, let’s commit ourselves to become known as people of gratitude.  Wouldn’t it be marvelous to have generated such an “attitude of gratitude” this month that, when Thanksgiving finally rolls around, we find ourselves so filled with a thankful heart that all we can do is simply & quietly reflect on God’s incredible goodness?

     Terry & Pat Lampel, Seattle, WA | Cup of Cold Water ministry