Make It Happen

I will walk in Your truth. . . . I will praise You, O Lord my God. . . . And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

Psalm 86:11-12

A commercial for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group depicts four businesspeople eating lunch, when suddenly one of them starts to choke on his bite of food. His colleagues begin discussing the situation, noting that he is in fact choking and that they know exactly what to do—the Heimlich maneuver. They then go into detail about how to properly perform the maneuver but never once get up to help their coworker in any way. During their conversation, a man from another table comes over and saves the choking man’s life by performing the Heimlich and then quietly walks away. The tagline at the end of the commercial is “Make it happen.”

It is easy to utter words of gratitude to the Lord during prayer and worship, but it is quite another thing to make those words come alive day in and day out. While expressing our thankfulness through worship is important, our aim should be productive gratitude, actively living in praise and thanksgiving. Today, when you stop to consider the many blessings God has given, don’t let your gratitude end with words; rather, “make it happen” with a grateful heart and joyful spirit.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.

JOHN F. KENNEDY