There's a moment every year when the air itself seems to shift.
The calendars fill, and depending on where you live, the streets get quieter, or they get busier.
Homes smell a little sweeter, and even though life doesn't slow down nearly as much as we wish it would,
there's still this invitation almost a whisper.
Remember, give thanks.
Look again at God's goodness.
And maybe, if we're honest, that invitation feels different this year than it did last year.
Some of you are carrying more joy.
Some of you are carrying more weight.
Some of you are doing both at the same time.
But today, Scripture gives us something steady to hold on to.
Not a suggestion.
Not a seasonal mood.
Something far deeper and more enduring.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.
That's Psalm 107, verse 1.
Welcome to Verses We Missed.
I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Wapp.
And today, for this Thanksgiving week episode, we're going to sit quietly and joyfully with
one of the simplest and richest verses in the whole Bible.
A verse that's not just for a holiday.
A verse that's for everyone who has ever looked at their life and thought,
I don't know how God is going to make something beautiful out of this.
And then, eventually, He did.
A verse that reminds us that gratitude is not about pretending everything is fine.
Gratitude is about remembering who God really is.
Psalm 107 opens with four simple refrains,
almost like a chorus that would be sung in the temple.
1. Give thanks.
2. To the Lord.
3. For He is good.
And 4. His steadfast love endures forever.
But what makes Psalm 107 so fitting for Thanksgiving is this.
It's a thank you note from people who have been rescued, not people who had an easy life,
people who were in deep trouble, and God intervened.
If you read the whole psalm later, you'll hear about wanderers who had no home,
prisoners who cried out in darkness, fools who sabotaged their own lives,
and sailors who nearly sank under the waves.
And in every story, the pattern repeats.
It says, Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
This is a psalm for people who have seen God move, maybe not instantly,
Maybe not predictably, but faithfully.
And that's what makes Psalm 107 verse 1 so powerful.
It isn't naive gratitude.
It's grateful remembrance.
Let me tell you a story.
Years ago, long before this show existed, before the lovely lady Leanne and I were married,
I was in a season where I simply didn't know what God was doing.
Maybe you've had a season like that too.
A season where you're showing up, you're praying, you're trusting.
But the threads aren't connecting yet.
I remember hiking on a backpacking trip all by myself.
I needed time away from everything and everyone.
I was talking to the Lord and saying,
Father, I don't know where this leads.
I'm doing everything I know how to do, but I can't see what you're doing.
What do I do? Where do I go?
And right in the middle of that frustration, this verse came back to me, not in a dramatic way,
but in that quiet, familiar way God often uses.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
Not give thanks because everything makes sense.
Not give thanks because everything has worked out.
Not give thanks because you feel strong today.
Just give thanks because God is good.
And His goodness doesn't depend on your clarity.
His goodness doesn't wait for your circumstances to cooperate.
His goodness doesn't expire if your season is difficult.
His steadfast love endures forever, even when your strength does not.
That moment didn't fix everything instantly, but it sort of re-centered me.
It reminded me that I don't have to understand the path to trust the shepherd.
Thanksgiving isn't about ignoring the hard things.
It's about anchoring your heart in the truest thing.
And Psalm 107 verse 1 points us to three truths worth carrying into Thanksgiving week.
Number one, give thanks.
Beloved, gratitude is an action, not a feeling.
If you wait until you feel thankful, you may wait a long time.
The psalm begins with a command.
Gratitude is something you do, not because everything is perfect, but because God is present.
That means you can be grateful and grieving.
You can be grateful and confused.
You can be grateful and in process.
Gratitude is not a denial of reality.
It's a declaration of God's reality.
Number two, for He is good.
That's a reason that doesn't change.
God's goodness is not seasonal.
God's goodness is not fragile.
God's goodness is not up for negotiation.
When the Bible says God is good, it is describing His character, not the current status of your circumstances.
And that kind of goodness is something you can count on.
3. His steadfast love endures forever.
It's a love that does not evaporate.
There are a lot of loves in this world that don't endure.
Conditional love.
Performative love.
Love that disappears when you fail.
Love that dries up when you stop being useful.
But God's love is covenant love.
loyal love, enduring love, love that outlasts you.
He loved you before you took your first breath,
and He will love you beyond your last breath,
and He will love you through everything in between.
That, right there, is a reason for Thanksgiving.
Let's be honest.
For some of you, Thanksgiving is not an entirely joyful holiday.
It brings up the chair that's empty this year,
The job that ended.
The relationship that fractured.
The diagnosis that changed everything.
The year that took more out of you than you expected.
If that's you, then listen closely.
Biblical gratitude doesn't require pretending.
It requires remembering.
Remembering His goodness.
Remembering His nearness.
Remembering His faithfulness.
remembering His promise to never leave you or forsake you.
Psalm 34, 18 says,
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.
Near.
Close.
Present.
A God who stays is a God you can thank, even in tears.
Let me speak directly to you, the Lifespring family, for a moment.
Every week, when you listen, when you share episodes,
When you send a note, when you pray for me or the show, you are part of this expression of gratitude.
The Lifespring family exists because God is good, because He is faithful,
and because His people respond to His goodness with generosity, encouragement, and love.
I'm grateful for you, deeply.
And while we're talking about gratitude, there's someone in my life I thank God for every single day.
If you've been with me for very long, you've heard me mention her before, my wife, the lovely Lady Leanne.
She has walked with me through some of the best seasons of my life, and some of the hardest.
She's prayed for me when I didn't know what to pray, encouraged me when the road was long,
and reminded me of God's goodness in ways only she can.
And I'll tell you something.
When Scripture says God's steadfast love endures forever,
I see glimpses of that in the way Leanne loves, gives, listens, and brightens the world around her.
So today, in this season of gratitude, I thank God for her.
And I thank God for every person listening who has someone like that in their life,
someone who quietly reflects the love of God.
And with all that in mind, the goodness of God, the people He uses,
the love He pours out in a thousand different ways,
Let's take all of it into a moment of prayer.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you.
Not just for the gifts we see, but for the goodness and the blessings that are always there.
Thank you for your steadfast love.
A love that stays.
A love that carries.
A love that does not end when our strength does.
Teach us to remember your goodness this Thanksgiving, Lord.
Teach us to see your hand in every season.
and teach us to give thanks,
not because life is simple,
but because you are faithful.
And Father, thank you for the people you place in our lives,
the encouragers, the steady ones,
the ones whose presence feels like grace.
Thank you for the way you love us through them.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Beloved, if this episode helped you to be more thankful or see God's goodness a little clearer,
would you consider returning some of that value? Time. Tell someone about the show.
Talent. Share your art or creativity. Treasure. Stream sats or donate dollars at
support.lifespringmedia.com.
This is a weekly show. Every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Pacific, I publish Verses We Missed.
It's your midweek breath of scripture and grace.
Until next time, may God remind you of His goodness,
surround you with His steadfast love,
and fill your heart with the kind of gratitude that cannot be shaken.
May God bless you richly.
My name is Steve Webb.
Bye.