Debt of Gratitude

I am obligated by vows to you, God; I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you. —Psalm 56:12

In Psalm 56, David appears to be in one of those frequent situations in his life when he was endangered—this time by the Philistines. He had been seized, commentators believe, by these bitter enemies of God’s people and now found himself in a full-blown crisis.

And just as you’ve likely done, David reacted to his circumstances by appealing to the Lord for help, promising to fulfill his vows of gratitude in return.

All this reminds me that thanksgiving is a debt. It’s something we owe. When we bring our thanks before God, we recognize Him as the source of every blessing, every protection, every rescue from every trial—even when His form of deliverance just means supplying us the perseverance we need to see it through. We have no life, hope, health, grace, strength, peace, holiness, or anything apart from what He has given and continues to give us.

So, if you’re holding an outstanding debt of gratitude today, fulfill your obligation to deliver your thanks to Him. He deserves it all.

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The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings

©2012 Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Scripture taken from The CSB