A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100)

Learning To Be Thankful

There are many things to be thankful for. The trouble with the human heart is to know who to be thankful for and for what to be thankful. Thanksgiving must be more than a holiday in November. If a man sees nothing to acknowledge as necessary to be thankful for, he will believe he exists by his own wisdom and power. The failure of human wisdom is to deny a higher power. Philosophy would have a man believe he is his own Creator, and his destiny is completely within his power. Nothing is further from the truth because man exists only through the will of the Creator. Everything in the world is held together by the word of God. When a man comes to that recognition, he will immediately bow in worship and thanksgiving.

The reason for a man to rejoice is that he knows that the Lord, He is God. There is nothing more fundamental for the creation to acknowledge he has a Creator, Maker, Provider, and Protector. At best, man is like the sheep who depend upon the shepherd for everything. Sheep are creatures who cannot care for themselves and cannot defend themselves against danger. They completely and utterly depend upon the shepherd to care for and protect them. There is no allusion to why God always refers to mankind as sheep of a pasture. Man needs God in everything.

When the Sun rises in the east, it is by the will of God. The universe is in perfect union and design because God created it for His glory. Everything in the world is suited for life on earth and the blessings of humanity. God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the animals and the world to show His power and glory. When a man knows the Lord is God, he makes a joyful shout to the glory of God. His spirit is filled with gladness and thanksgiving. The heart of man wants to worship his Creator and give Him thanks as he ponders the depths of the oceans, the heights of the mountains, and the complexities of a marvelous world created by God.

The Lord is good. One of the most important realizations a man can have is the reality of the goodness of God. Reading the word of God, the heart realizes how great the mercy of God is toward an undeserving creature. This message of truth and mercy endures through every generation because truth is older than error, and the word of God endures to all generations. What man learns today about God is not new. The same message of hope has filled the hearts of the faithful in every generation. Knowing what God did in sending His only begotten Son heightens the spirit of thanksgiving for a man to know he could not save himself apart from the mercy of God. God is good and shows His goodness in Jesus Christ.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord for the eternal goodness of divine grace. The immediate response to knowing what God has done is worship, praise, honor, and glory. A desire to stand before the Lord with singing is a response of the heart filled with thanksgiving. People of God are people who live every day with a thankful heart. They know what God has done, are thankful to Him, and bless His name. The Lord is good. Be thankful.