“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There’s a Caedmon’s Call song I love called, “Thankful.” At first, it bothered me. Because the lyrics for the chorus went, “I’m so thankful, that I’m incapable, of doing any good on my own.”

I didn’t like the idea that I was incapable of doing any good on my own. And I certainly wasn’t thankful, if that idea was true.

At first.

Then, somehow (slowly, with great patience and through the work of the Holy Spirit), God began to change my heart and my mind about this song. I slowly began to see that any good I do is evidence of Christ in me. And that is something to be very thankful for.

I began to get that this song was about how I was created to need Jesus – that there was a God-shaped hole in my soul, as Blaise Pascal put it. And that this was a good thing because that need, that hole, is what lead me to faith in Jesus.

Sometimes we think we can do things on our own. Sometimes we think we don’t really need God. But the longer I’m alive, the more aware I become of my deep and endless need for my Creator, my Saviour, my Sustainer.

And yes, I find myself thankful that I’m incapable of doing any good on my own.