Psalm 100 AMP
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God!
It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]!
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering
and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him,
bless and affectionately praise His name!
For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.
Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise. It calls us to “Make a joyful noise to the Lord.” We are to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving” in our hearts and enter into “His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” We can praise God anytime, anywhere, publicly or privately, silently or aloud. Praise is to be offered with gladness, willingly and not grudgingly. We are to offer it because we want to, and because He is God our Creator and the Lord of All.
You may be thinking “Well that’s all well and good…but you don’t know my story, my circumstances, my life right now. There isn’t much to be thankful for!” True, I don’t. We all have issues. But, if you are reading this right now, you are still breathing, right? God holds our breath in His hands. As Acts 17:25b (AMP) states: “…it is He Himself Who gives life and breath and all things to all.” Praise Him for that. Since you are reading this, you can still see, right? Praise Him for that. And if you are still reading this, your brain stills work, right? Praise Him for that.
Okay, you get my point. At this point I am preaching to myself as much as anyone. So let’s stop focusing on what is wrong and what we DON’T have and, instead, offer up praise to God for what is right and all we DO have.
It may be a challenge for you to praise Him right now. At times it has been for me. Think of it as a sacrifice, an offering. We are no longer required to offer sacrifices to God since Christ became our ultimate Sacrifice. Hebrews 13:15 (HCSB) puts it like this: “Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.” Praise reminds us we owe God everything. If we chose to willingly offer Him praise, even in the most difficult of times, think of how much it pleases God. And, best of all, it reminds us of the life to come. As Isaiah 35:10 (HCSB) puts it:
…and the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
And, oh! what a day that will be!
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Father, thank You for everything. All we are, all we have, all the blessings You have bestowed upon us. Let us never take them for granted. May we always praise Your Holy name with gladness and joy in our hearts—no matter the circumstances. Thank You for all that has been, will be, and is to come. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen – so be it!
