Begin by saying thanks to God
Skye Pournazari
Pastor Kim Mitchell First United Methodist Church
OK. It’s November: The month some go without shaving for 30 days and many strive to be thankful every day. I cannot say much about No-Shave November, but we should dream for a day when we put thankfulness into our daily practice, 24/7/365. It would take practice and practice makes perfect. Nonetheless, it is November! So, let’s put on our thankful hats and begin to think about what we are thankful for. Or better yet, who are we thankful for?
The writers of the collection of Psalms had special ways of saying thank you to God. In Psalm 100:1-5 we read these words, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
We cannot be sure who wrote Psalm 100, but it was someone who felt the invitation to enter joyfully into God’s presence. The author lays out steps, right here in this Psalm, for us to follow his lead in giving thanks to God. That is where giving thanks begins. When we get into the practice of saying thank you through prayer to God, God will speak to us as to who and how we say thanks to the people in our life.
The writer begins, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord!” Other translations say, “shout for joy to the Lord.” We have so much clutter and noise in the world around us we may feel we need to shout above the noise to be heard. Is this scripture really asking us to shout? Perhaps it is simply telling us to clearly speak the truth. With gratitude and faithfulness, we speak joy of the goodness of God in our lives.
The Apostle Paul spoke his faith above the clutter and clatter around him and pressed forward in joy. Paul wrote, “for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me (see Philippians 4).”
Contentedness allows us to always “Serve the Lord with gladness!” This phrase in Psalm 100 reminds me of the New Testament texts that speak of working for the Lord with our whole being (Ephesians 6:7 and Colossians 3:23).
Then we can “Come into his presence with singing!”
“Know that the Lord is God!” This phrase tells us to simply acknowledge that the Lord is God. God is our creator. God made us; therefore, we humbly accept his authority in every aspect of our life. In doing so we are open to seeing God’s love and blessings. The Psalmist continues, “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!”
“Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
These power-filled ways of saying thanks honors God and blesses us. If we are willing to do these steps just like the psalmist, we will begin to know “the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
