Gratitude

 Psalm 100

Have you ever observed an ungrateful person, whether an adult or a child?  They have so many blessings in their life, so many nice things for which they should be thankful to a parent, to a spouse, or to some other benefactor, yet not a word of gratitude.  They just seem to take all that has come their way for granted, or even worse, they think they are entitled to these many blessings.  It is bad enough to read about such people in a novel or see such behavior in a movie, but when you observe it in actual life, one sometimes just wants to knock a little sense into them.  Ungratefulness is just not pleasant!  In our psalm for this week, we find some words of Scriptures to help us in fleeing from becoming one of those ungrateful individuals.

Psalm 100 is a short, little psalm, but packed with joy, thanksgiving, and praise to God.  It is to Him that we need to show our thanks and gratitude for all the many blessings He has poured upon us throughout our life.  It is true that we get many things throughout our life from others, from our parents, our spouse, from our employers and our friends, and we should show them our gratitude.  However, ultimately everything comes from God, even though He may give them to us through these others.  Our psalmist encourages us to show our gratitude to God through singing (vs. 1-2).  Most people like music of one type or another, as it helps to put us into a good mood.  Hymns of praise and worship can inspire and uplift us to have grateful and thankful hearts to God.

Yahweh is our Creator, and we are His people (vs. 3).  Every breath we breathe is a gift from Him.  God is absolutely perfect and holy.  He, alone, is the standard of all righteousness.  All He does is just and right because God cannot violate His own nature.  God is good, and His mercy will go on forever and ever (vs. 5).  Satan would have us believe that God is distant and angry.  However, that is the opposite of the truth.  God is love itself.  At the core of His being is goodness and love, and that will never change.

Yahweh is our Shepherd, watching over us and providing for all of our needs (vs. 3).  As followers of Jesus, we have an identity.  All who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are His sheep, kept and cared for by the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).  Our Shepherd loves us so much that He laid down His life for us!  When we don’t understand what the Lord is doing, we can trust His heart, and know that He cares for us.

As our psalm continues, God tells us that we are to come into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise (vs. 4).  With most important people one needs an appointment in order to see them, and the more important the person is, the more difficult it is to get an appointment.  Just try getting in to see one’s President or the Queen!  Yet the gates into God’s presence are always open to us.  However, we should always enter with thanksgiving and praise, with shouts of joy and song.  This is because we belong to Him.

We are also told to bless God’s Name (vs. 4).  The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians that the Name of Jesus is exalted and above every other name.  He tells us that at the Name of Jesus the knees of all creation will one day bow (Philippians 2:9-11).  Thus, we need to show honor and homage to His Name, recognizing that the Name of Jesus is higher than any other name, and to affirm His power and goodness.

Are we unthankful and ungrateful to the Lord for what He has done for us, for what He provides for us day by day?  Do we praise Him for who He is?   One of the signs of the last days will be ingratitude (II Timothy 3:1-5).  We need to beware of an ungrateful and thankless generation, and cultivate a grateful heart.  Christians should praise God even if we don’t feel like it, when our problems feel overwhelming.  Praising God puts the demons to flight.  If we are going to see God’s glory, thanksgiving and praise is the doorway that will lead us into His throne room.