"Life In The Spirit" by Emily Sailor for Sojourn Visual Arts
“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. . . Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psalm 95:1-3; 6-7)
With the Thanksgiving holiday just a short time away, I thought it’d be good for us to look to the Psalms to remind us how and why we should give thanks and extol the Lord at ALL times. Psalm 95 above is a direct invitation that tells why we should give thanks and includes descriptions of how to come before God with thanksgiving.
And Psalm 34 (below) gives us a picture of gratitude-filled praise flowing out of a “poor man” resolved to extol the Lord at all times because of his assurance that God will deliver him from ALL his troubles. This Psalm goes on describing who God is and what He’s done and will do for His people. These are amazing truths to meditate upon—and they inspire in us the praise that God deserves.
Excuses For Holding Back Praise & Thanksgiving
When it comes to Christians giving thanks and praise to God, none of us have an excuse to keep silent. As I’ve been reflecting on Psalm 34 in recent weeks, I’ve been rightly challenged and heartily encouraged to keep my heart and mouth open in audible, continual praise and thanks to the Lord in the midst of the best and worst circumstances. When I forget God’s faithfulness to me in times past, I become sinfully ungrateful and self-absorbed in the present.
But when I call to mind every trouble I’ve been through, every moment spent suffering my broken heart, I cannot deny God’s faithfulness and nearness to me at all times. Like the Psalmist David, every time I’ve sought and cried out to Him, He has answered and delivered me from all my fears. Further, since becoming a child of God and walking in the fear of the Lord, I have lacked nothing.
- I have tasted and seen that the Lord IS good.
- He is my sure refuge.
- He has saved me when I was crushed in spirit.
Radiant like some of our Sojourn friends, joyfully serving the neighborhood at our Fall Festival
If I truly believe God’s Word as I claim to, then this promise alone would sustain me and inspire thanks and praise to God at all times, in every trouble and trial I may have:
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him from them all. . . the Lord will rescue His servants; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.”
Want A Radiant Face?
Not only that, but when I fix my eyes upon my Savior, He makes my countenance radiant by dispelling all of my shame. I may be calling to Him from a place of shame-filled disobedience of my own doing. I may be shamefully suffering injury by someone else’s hand. Either way He promises that when I look to Him my face will be radiant, never covered with shame. I will see my true reflection in the apple of His eye and remember who I am because of who He is and what He’s done for me.
And neither will I be condemned when I run to Him for refuge. See how the Psalmist declares the same gospel truth the Apostle Paul declares in Romans 8:
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death!”
When I ponder the marvelous deeds of my Maker and Good Shepherd, when I consider that I am His people, His flock under His perfect care, how can I withhold thanks and praise to the One who is most worthy of it? Here’s my quick scripture memory song to help you remember and sing the truth of Romans 8:1-2:
And giving thanks is not only for God’s benefit. It also blesses us and anyone else listening. By letting our voices resound with thankful praise to God within earshot of those who are also afflicted, we encourage and afford an opportunity for them to hear and rejoice with us because of God’s faithful goodness at all times.
“I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.”
I cannot tell you how many times God has lifted me up from the ash heap simply by letting me hear someone else declare in thankful praise who He is and what He’s done for them through their own suffering and affliction.
So, let us together resolve like David to extol the Lord at ALL times. The Scriptures remind us that we always have a reason to give thanks:
- when we’re in the darkest, deepest places of our suffering and can’t see the end or way out
- when we’re not recovering but rather dying in faith without experiencing physical relief on this earth
- when we’re on the other side of suffering and experiencing peace and rest on this earth.
God has promised (and perfectly proven) that when the righteous cry out to Him, He hears and delivers them from all their troubles.
We will not always be trapped in this troubled world. Some of us will experience temporary relief here. But no matter the circumstance, at all times, let us sing and shout our thanks and praise so that we and others can hear it and rejoice in our afflictions. Let us remember God’s faithfulness and His never-failing Word. Let us continually cry out to the Lord in our suffering, pouring out our hearts to Him for He is a refuge for us (Psalm 62), humbly confident that we who take refuge in Him will never be condemned, but rather delivered from all our troubles and fears.
“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing. . . The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him from them all . . .the Lord will rescue His servants; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.” (Psalm 34:1-9; 17-22)
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