When Gratitude Stretches Us

My eyes were filled with tears at the recitation. The tiny voices in unison, speaking truth with boldness. I found myself in an environment which held my most treasured memories of childhood.

Returning as a leader between semesters of training to become a ministry leader, this moment refocused me on why I wanted to do ministry full time: to bring others to know the God I love. Hearing hundreds of children, who we had spent the week investing in declaring truth was overwhelming.

Just days earlier we met with fear and uncertainty yet the time spent together had bonded us. They had trusted me with the feelings within them, allowed me to teach them how to pray, and I got to watch them encounter God - some for the first time. It was such a joy.

In this moment, at the final gathering, I was filled with a plethora of emotions. Sadness the week was over, relief the children would no longer be my sole responsibility, gratitude for what we had been through together, and anticipation of going back to normal life. As these flooded me and became tangible all at once, I was aware of the preciousness of this shared experience.

The children displayed what they’d learned in this final opportunity to chant these words with the exact same people with all their might. Looking to the families present who were excited to have them home, I chose to trade in the complex emotions in for another; hope. As we all said our goodbyes and left this place I had hope that the time spent repeating these words over and over again were not in vain. The children and leaders alike would take these truths with them. They would leave this place with truth written on their hearts and minds. Each time I have heard Psalm 100 since, my entire self - my body, mind, and spirit - return to the same peace that I experienced that day.

This psalm welcomes us to experience gratitude in every situation. The first couple lines invite us to worship and bring our joy to God regardless of how we feel.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 

Worship the Lord with gladness; 

come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1-2)

These words are spoken as a command to shout for joy and worship God simply because we exist. We are told to come and worship because it is without question to the author that our God deserves our reverence.

Know that the Lord is God. 

It is he who made us, and we are his; 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3) 

We are then encouraged then to know, to remember, to encounter and experience awareness of the reality that the Lord (YHWH) is divine. This author would know the word for “knowing” used here from the perspective of God’s people. The word meant much more than to have knowledge. To know the Lord is God is an encompassing understanding that He is who He is regardless of if we acknowledge He is God.

Then, the psalmist writes about the attributes of this God which make him worthy. The role of Creator, Master, and Shepherd are evident in the language of the relationship of God & His people. God not only chose to create us but we belong to Him as His chosen people which was common understanding. Like sheep, we belong to our Shepherd who brought us into the world and choses to sacrificially protect us from ourselves.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name.  (Psalm 100:4) 

It is clear that God had revealed Himself to the author and allowed them to see the value of being included as God’s invited guests to come close to Him. They declare with clarity the welcoming embrace of the God who chose them. They clearly felt invited to be in His presence as His cherished creations, and want to ensure all people notice they are also invited to participate in this incredible intimacy.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.”  (Psalm 100:5) 

These words were written with awareness of the need for all people to be rescued by a God with a love that perseveres through failure and hardship; a God whose love is enduring. There is also assurance and clarity that our God is safe to trust. He has been consistent in His love over hundreds of years, and is a faithful God. This psalm invites us to remember who God is.

While the holidays can bring forth all kinds of emotions and realities that are painful, we can also be sure of our God who deserves our gratitude today.

As three of my children and I delivered meals this morning to those who are Home for Thanksgiving, a daughter of one of the women we visited reminded me of the nature of thankfulness. She spoke of our desire to look at what we have and who we are surrounded by, but if we stop there we miss an opportunity to be truely grateful. As she went on about the incredible God she loves, we looked around their home and circumstances which left us surprised at the magnitude of her thankfulness.

Her words stuck with me and the memory of Psalm 100 being recited decades ago came back to my mind along with the peace and hope of knowing these words to be true. How precious it was to hear the children declare these truths decades ago. Using these same words, I get to walk with my own children in awareness of our good, trustworthy God.

Perhaps we can experience our God this Thanksgiving by acknowledging who He is instead of what He’s given us. Between bites of pumpkin pie and rushing to the stores to spoil those we love, we have the opportunity to sit in awe of His generosity and thoughtful intention.

Don’t let this day pass you by without sitting in awareness of your preciousness to the God who made you, pursues you, cares for you, and is trustworthy in every circumstance. While we are bombarded to notice of what we are without, we can discover hope in the One who not only extends love, but is Love.

May you find peace and hope by truely knowing and experiencing the richness of your value and depth of God’s love for you. With gratitude for our God together, let us worship Him today, for He alone is worthy.