“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalm 100 (KJV)
In The Christian Reader article “Kids of the Kingdom”, author Catherine Jones tells of her toddler son praying at mealtimes. He normally said the short version of “Thank you God for this food, In Jesus name. Amen.” But one evening, the boy thanked God for the trees, the flowers, the birds, the bees, the whole list of his friends, and their families. Then he started naming the members of his own family. Jones said she was very impressed that he was finally “praying from his heart.” However, “after he said Amen, he took a spoonful of stew, gasped, then dropped his spoon into the bowl and said: “I should have said a longer prayer, my food is still too hot.”
How many families will spend this holiday eating too much, watching their favorite team win or lose on TV, maybe do something special (like take a nap), but never pausing to gratefully consider how blessed they are? Will Thursday only be another day off from work? Will we only mouth hollow words of thanks with disconnected hearts, while waiting for the food to cool?
Gratitude is born out of a joyful heart that voices joy and gladness. The joyful heart inspires the voice to sing praises. It is a joyful heart that recognizes the goodness of God. If you doubt this, consider all those negative people you know with their doom and gloom and pessimism. They are almost never joyful. We can only imagine what they must be like in a worship service!
God is not only our Creator, he is our father. He is good all the time! He is not out to get us! We are his people and the sheep of his pasture! He is our Shepherd who supplies all our needs from his riches in glory! Yes, we have good reasons to enter his gates with thanksgiving! We have many blessings to praise him for as we enter his courts! Everyone can think of good, personal reasons to be thankful and bless his holy name.
Because God “is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.”
Dear Father, thank you for your mercy and grace. Enable us to remember your goodness and gratefully bless your name. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today as you bless God’s name for good reasons,