This post is part of the series, Songs of Thanksgiving. Find the whole series here.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).
The unique relationship between music and memory is astounding, isn’t it?
God has designed our minds in such a way that we can go years—decades even—without singing a song, and yet when we hear it again, the lyrics are all right there on the tip of our tongue. It’s as if no time has passed. It’s as if we’ve been singing that song our whole lives through, without end.
But catchy tunes and carefully crafted verses alone don’t make songs stick in our minds. If that were all it took, we’d only have to hear a song once to remember it. No, it’s the act of singing such songs repetitively, over and over again, that makes us remember them, even years later.
Repetition helps train remembrance.
There is a song that the devil does not want you to remember, a song he does not want you to sing. Not once—not ever. That is a song of thanksgiving to God for all the goodness, mercy, and love he shows you in abundance every day.
And so the devil tries to focus your attention on other things: problems, sorrows, troubles. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good”? The devil whispers, “How can God be good if he allows bad things to happen to you? How can God be good if your life is a mess and your world is falling apart around you?”
Dear Christian, in his mercy, God gives you and me the reason to sing songs of thanksgiving to him: His love endures forever. His love is unchanging because he is unchanging. Consider how the God who formed and fashioned us inspired the psalmist to give believers a powerful song that masterfully weaves together repetition and remembrance.
Just read through Psalm 136.
The verses progressively remind God’s people of who he is—the awesome things he has done, his unwavering faithfulness, and how he fulfills all his promises to his people. And each verse ends with a powerful, vocalized reminder: His love endures forever.
Over and over again, the psalmist reminds us that God is good by pointing us back to the past. The God who did those things is still the same today. He’s still the same God. He’s the God who is with his people. Always. He is working all things for our good. Right here and now. His love endures forever.
We can give thanks to God every day because of Jesus and what he has done. He has taken all our sins away! We know God is good. Why? His love endures forever.
No matter what has happened, is happening, or will happen in our lives, we know who our God is. We know what he has done, is doing, and promises he will do for us for Jesus’ sake. All our sins are forgiven; we have an eternal home in heaven waiting for us. His love endures forever.
We get to sing a song of thanksgiving for the goodness of our God our whole lives through, dear Christian. Repeat it daily. Remember it daily. Rejoice in Jesus always!
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
Looking for ways to be intentionally thankful to God in not just November but every day? 364 Days of Thanksgiving: A Devotional Journal will help you recognize God’s many blessings in your life!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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