Thanks to God for My Redeemer

One day in 1891, August Ludwig Storm began considering all the reasons why he needed to be thankful. Storm, who was born on this day in Sweden in 1862, joined the Salvation Army in 1880 and eventually became its financial secretary. He knew it was easy to thank God for pleasant things, but on that day Storm remembered that we should also be thankful for everything that happens in our lives.

In this spirit, Storm wrote a hymn called “Thanks to God,” in which he listed 24 things for which he was thankful.

He wrote, “Thanks to God for my redeemer, thanks for all Thou dost provide! Thanks for times now but a memory, thanks for Jesus by my side! Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime, thanks for dark and dreary fall! Thanks for tears by now forgotten, thanks for peace with my soul!”

Storm recognized that we need to “give thanks in all circumstances.” He wrote, “Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered, thanks for what Thou dost deny! Thanks for storms that I have weathered, thanks for all Thou dost supply!” He thanked God both for pain and pleasure, “for comfort in despair,” for “grace that none can measure,” and for “love beyond compare.”

Instead of just thinking about the “roses” in life, we need to be thankful “for thorns their stems contain.” We need to be thankful for everything, including both joy and sorrow. Ultimately, Storm wrote, we can be thankful “for heavenly peace” with God and for “hope in the tomorrow” and “through all eternity!”

Right now, no matter what you are facing, consider all the reasons you should be thankful. Remember God’s promises. He has a plan for you. And He is with you!

Think about what He has done for you. Be specific. Tell Him how thankful you are!