Give Thanks

Psalm 100
A psalm of thanks.
Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
² Serve the Lord with celebration!
Come before him with shouts of joy!
³ Know that the Lord is God—
he made us; we belong to him.
We are his people,
the sheep of his own pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanks;
enter his courtyards with praise!
Thank him! Bless his name!
⁵ Because the Lord is good,
his loyal love lasts forever;
his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

What is the shortest Psalm in all of Scripture is perhaps one of the most important. One of the central core actions of faith is giving thanks. We learn to give thanks to God for all things. As we have so clearly seen in world events, that there are things in this world that are not of God. Not everything that happens is God’s work nor something to give thanks to God for. However, even in the midst of those evil things God is at work moving God’s plan forward, returning us toward what our stubborn and selfish human free will detours. The presence of God in the middle of all, especially the difficult, is something we need to remember and give thanks for, especially because the much of the world around us is conditioned to not see or recognize it.

God promises that when our strength is weak, God’s is strong. When our faithfulness is in question, God’s is not. When we feel alone in the world, God is beside us. These are worth giving thanks for.

So as we gather for a national holiday this month that tends to focus on family, abundance, and way too much food, let us make sure we pause in the middle of it to give thanks to God. The God who created us, who sustains us, who sent Christ to redeem us, is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving; a praise that knows no boundaries. “Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courts with praise! Thank him! Bless his name!”

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Brian Siegle