“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psalm 145:15–18 ESV).
Many of us speak the first part of these verses before meals. Perhaps your mouth is watering since your body equates these words with eating. This practice is beneficial, and we join with our forefathers in this prayer, thanking and praising God for His wonderful gifts, and acknowledging God as the source of our daily bread.
Today, I want to encourage you to meditate on these words from Psalm 145. Let them linger in your mind and your prayers throughout the day. And let your heart be filled with thanksgiving, for our God is good and gracious. He generously opens His hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing. He is righteous and kind in all He does. He is near to all who call on him in truth.
Most importantly, we thank God for our Lord Jesus Christ. The “love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9 ESV). We rejoice that God’s love in Christ delivers us from sin and death. We rejoice in the Good News of Jesus. Thanks be to God for this greatest Gift. Eternal thanks be to God.
Paul sees all good things as flowing from God’s love in Christ, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32 ESV) Indeed, God gives us all good things in Christ. He provides for His church with pastors and deaconesses. He provides for Concordia Seminary with alumni, faculty, staff, and students.
Dear friend, you are one of the ways that God has graciously blessed Concordia Seminary and His church. In this season of thanksgiving, I thank God for you.
In Christ’s love,
Thomas J. Egger President