Thankfulness #3: X is for Xylophone

X is for xylophone. Almost every English alphabet book claims this fact (because who wants to illustrate X is for xenophobe!?). As children grow up, they realize that xylophones are not as common as they expected. But "x" starts a word. A rarity for this obscure letter.

Why am I am thankful for this? Simple: it's a constant. Very few things in this world remain constant. Geological structures erode. Human relationships evolve. Political frameworks collapse. But X is for xylophone.

Our church held a commissioning service for our new pastor and his wife. As part of the service, the speaker illuminated the congregation on an Old Testament passage, 1 Chronicles 29:10-13. Here it is, if you are interested:

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name..."

Within a challenging exegetical sermon (which my husband and I managed to enjoy with two little kids), the speaker reminded us to be thankful. He went on to exhort his listeners to go beyond being thankful for things and people. After all, things and people will disappoint us. Thus, if that is the main subject of our thankfulness, it will be shallow in the long run. Instead, he challenged us to be thankful for God's character, first and foremost. Because God's character doesn't change. He is a constant in a world of fluctuation.

King David, the author of the prayer above, modelled thankfulness for God's character. He could have said, "Lord, thank you for this kingdom. And thank you for wealth and honor. And thanks for making me king. I really appreciate it." With such a prayer, he could have dismissed the Israelites from the assembly. Rather, he pinpointed several facets of who God is. The LORD is our father. He is eternal. He is great. He owns everything. He is worthy to be in charge. He is the provider of material blessings. He is strong. He exalts. He imparts strength. And if you read the remainder of the prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:14-19, he continues to praise the character of God with such passion, humility, and integrity. It is awe inspiring.

I desire to improve my thankfulness habits when I approach God. I am hoping that it will change my outlook on life. I do not want to be controlled by my human dependency on things and people. I aim to be controlled by God, because He Does Not Change. Just like that xylophone on the "X" page of the alphabet book.

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