What God Hath Wrought

"What hath God wrought"

It's a quote from Numbers 23, and it was the first message ever sent in morse code. It officially opened the Washington--Balitmore telegraph line in May of 1884.

That was a beautiful acknowledgement that God reigns over the accomplishments of men. It was a tribute to the fact that we are made in the image of God, and that He is the source of human ingenuity. Technology and culture were advancing, and people were ackowledging God's hand in it.

It's also a beautiful question to provoke reflection.

What hath God wrought? What has God done?

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection...a perfect time to ask this question!

But it's really a question we should be asking every day with a pause for thought.

God rarely blows a trumpet in front of His works. More often than not, the works of God are quiet. We have to stop, listen, and look intentionally to see them. But the more we look, the more we consider, the more amazed we will become.

I remember a powerful lesson God taught me one day when I was a first-year student at Bible school.

I was living away from home for the first time--very homesick, and dealing with a large load of assignments. Not only were the assignments challenging, but the class lectures had been powerfully convicting, so that I was wrestling with heart-level issues regarding my relationship with God. It was intense! I was overwhelmed.

I returned to my dorm room one afternoon and felt like the only thing I could do was fall on my knees by my bed. As I knelt there, the quiet thought came, “give thanks.” I felt anything but thankful! Nevertheless, the thought was not necessarily to FEEL thankful, but to CHOOSE to give thanks. So I began.

The thought was not necessarily to FEEL thankful, but to CHOOSE to give thanks.

At first I could hardly think of anything. I thanked God for the clouds in the sky. But even as I did that, I remembered to give thanks that I had eyes that could see those clouds. Then I realized I should give thanks for legs and feet that work, which allowed me to walk down the campus pathway and observe those clouds. 

One thought led to another. The more I gave thanks, the more things I remembered I should be thankful for. The prayer went on and on, as the eyes of my heart opened more and more to the things that God had done for me. 

The more I gave thanks, the more things I remembered I should be thankful for. 

By the time I got up from my knees, my heart was soaring with gratitude. The cloud of awful feeling had disappeared, and in its place was a sense of awe and wonder at the love of God.

What has God done? What has He done for you today? What has He done for you throughout your lifetime? Have you noticed? Have you thanked Him? 

The parking space that opened up right when you needed it. The surprise sale on exactly the item you went to purchase. A host of “little” mercies every day are not really little!  They are evidence of God’s kindness, and therefore they are a BIG deal!

We need to keep our eyes open. 

Watch for what God does. Remember what He has already done. Cultivate the habit of giving thanks to Him for everything, large and small.  

What hath God wrought?

Not only was this the first-ever message sent by telegraph, it was also the last message sent out to ships in Morse Code when the system was discontinued in 1999. Cultivating an open eye to the works of God should be a lifelong habit. If we’re watching, we will never come to the end of seeing His kindness at work...and we will never come to the end of reasons to give thanks.