Music Blog 11-21-2024
MUSIC BLOG
11-21-2024
THIVING GANKS (or a rather backward approach to giving thanks)
Thanksgiving is a requirement for the Christian. Scripture demands the faith-filled follower to give thanks to God constantly. Come into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise is one command. That theme is resplendent through the Psalms and other parts of scripture as well. Yet, we come to this holy and sanctified season with many feelings and emotions, Thanksgiving is sometimes not on the list. We are stressed, tired, defeated, lonely, and alone, but Thankful? Not so much! If we’re hosting a group or family we have to incorporate all the dietary needs: Keto, no carb, Paleo, Mediterranean, whole food, organic, nut allergy, gluten-free, celiac, and the list goes on. People find out you love to cook and entertain and they are willing to send you their menu list and show up for dinner.
Some people have the opposite view of Thanksgiving. Their good memories are all past tense. Mom and Dad have passed away, and the children are busy with their lives and often make little effort to go see parents when their children are involved. Life is one endless, dreary day strung together with countless other endless dreary days, a pearl necklace of sorrow, pain, loneliness, and depression.
Is there a solution or is our furious stagnation simply our lot in life?
We understand that the bible commands us to praise God and thank Him. The secret is this. God does not need our praise or our thanks. Our praise and thanks cannot add one thing to the God who is by nature, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God is 100% self-sufficient. The command is not for God the command is for us. We need to praise God, we need to thank God. When our lives become burdensome, we will fall beneath the weight of our heavy loads if we don’t look up and cast our eyes elsewhere. I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, whence cometh my help. When we praise God we are calling to mind all the reasons why we should praise Him. Psalm 96 reminds us of just a few reasons why God is worthy of our praise.
Psalm 96
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
We don’t praise, worship and thank just any God. We praise, worship and thank the Great God above all gods, who is greatly to be feared, God made the heaven, Splendor and majesty are before Him. The whole earth trembles before Him.
I may not know the desperation of your situation nor the level of angst or abject helplessness you feel, but I do know that the God we serve made the heavens and the earth. I know that He will judge all people. I know creation will rejoice before Him. If the earth can worship Him and the trees of the forest can sing for joy, then I am assured that you and I can do the same. We must do the same. When we remember that God is infinitely bigger than our problems then this season of giving thanks will become our favorite time of the year.
Blessings,
Marty