Know the Giver
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Psalm 100:3-4
Have you ever written a thank you card? Maybe after a birthday, or graduation, or a wedding? As a kid, I remember being sat down at the kitchen table after holidays and handed a pen and a stack of thank you cards. And I remember struggling sometimes to write more than "thank you for your gift" when it was a card for someone I didn't know very well. It wasn't due to a lack of gratitude; it's just hard sometimes to feel thankful to a person when you don't actually have a connection. Instead, you're more grateful for the gift than the giver.
In most versions of Psalm 100, this passage is accurately titled a psalm for giving grateful praise. It's a short passage with only 5 verses, yet we see at least 6 ways to praise God. And amid this thanksgiving-themed passage, there was a verse that I kept returning to over and over again: Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
On a first read-through, it seems a little out of place, given the rest of the psalm. After all, the psalmist tells us to shout to the Lord and sing joyful songs because his love endures forever. So why is there a reminder that the Lord is God?
Because it's important to know who is giving the gift. In Hebrew, the word for thanksgiving is towdâh, meaning confession or offering, and in English, thanksgiving is used explicitly for thanks offered to God. That means thanksgiving isn't just being glad you are given a gift. It's about knowing and confessing who gave you the gift. James 1:17 reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God.
So, just like writing my thank you cards was easier and more authentic when I knew the gift-giver, when our hearts genuinely know God, His goodness, His mercy, and His grace, then we can run into His presence with thanksgiving. Knowing who God is directs our response.
I encourage you this season to take some time to really know God. Dive into the Word, linger in His Presence, and let Him reveal Himself to you more and more. I promise you He is good, and you will want to shout and sing His praises!
By Maya Galindo