December 12, 2025 • 13 mins
What if thanksgiving isn’t a mood but a choice that reshapes the soul? We dive into Psalm 100 to explore a gritty, hopeful vision of gratitude that holds firm when life is heavy. With Stephen Davey guiding the journey, we look at how Scripture calls us to make a joyful noise, serve with gladness, and enter God’s presence with singing—even when it feels anything but natural.
We talk through the surprising model Jesus gives on the night before the cross, offering thanks over symbols of suffering. From there, the psalm opens two paths: how to give thanks and why. The how includes practical, heart-level steps—lifting our voices, adjusting our attitude, training our hearts toward praise. The why anchors gratitude in God’s character: he is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness spans generations. That foundation matters when circumstances resist easy answers.
We also consider what God has done for us personally. He made us, wired our strengths, permitted our weaknesses, and calls us his sheep. That identity reframes our days. Gratitude becomes both worship and warfare—crowding out discouragement, softening pride, and steadying anxious hearts. If you’ve ever wondered how to thank God in the middle of loss, pressure, or uncertainty, this conversation offers a clear, biblical path forward and practical encouragement for the way.
Listen and share with someone who needs a lift. If the message helps you, subscribe, leave a review, and send this episode to a friend who’s learning to sing in the dark.
Get our magazine and daily devotional: https://www.wisdomonline.org/lp/magazine
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
These are ways of expressinggratitude.
Gratitude is one of thedistinguishing marks of a
follower of the Lord.
As a Christian, your attitudeshould be one of thanksgiving to
God for who he is and what he'sdone.
This should be central to yourthinking, your actions, your
(01:26):
attitudes, and your speech.
Today on the Wisdom Journey,Stephen arrives in Psalm 100.
He's called this lesson theoriginal Thanksgiving Hymn.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Has it ever occurred to you that the believer has
been commanded to be thankful?
In fact, one of the leadingdistinctives of believers is
just that.
No matter what happens, we givethanks to God.
No wonder the Lord modeled thisfor us in his own life while he
(02:00):
ministered here on the planet.
At the time of his greatestcrisis, you remember the hours
leading up to his crucifixion,he took the elements that
represented his agony andsuffering and gave thanks to his
father.
Well, that'd be like a man or awoman going back to that cancer
center where they they firstheard the news that they had
(02:22):
cancer and giving thanks.
That'd be like going over to thebank that just foreclosed on
your home and giving thanks.
You know, that'd be like goingto the intersection where
someone you love was in aterrible car accident and
actually giving thanks.
(02:42):
You know, right about now you'reprobably saying, Stephen, that
would be unnatural.
And yeah, I I would agree it'sunnatural.
Frankly, I would have to sayit's supernatural.
I believe that giving thanksabout everything is more
supernatural than we typicallythink, which is why, by the way,
the world is described asungrateful, where the believer
(03:06):
is marked by a spirit ofthanksgiving.
Why?
How is that possible?
Whether there's somethingsupernatural going on inside
your heart as a believer.
Now, today we come to Psalm 100,and the heading reads a psalm
for giving thanks.
You know, this is the onlypsalm, by the way, designated as
(03:28):
a public song to be sung for thepurpose of giving thanks.
You could actually call Psalm100 the original thanksgiving
hymn.
Well, this psalm, even to thisday, answers two questions for
us as believers.
How do we give thanks to God andwhy?
Well, how do we give thanks ineverything?
(03:49):
Verse 1 begins to answer thatquestion for us by giving us the
first of three key phrases.
He writes, Make a joyful noiseto the Lord.
Well, that might describe whatyou sound like when you try to
sing.
It's a joyful noise.
Well, let me tell you to keep onsinging.
(04:09):
This is a call to raise ourvoices with songs of
thanksgiving, no matter how darkthe world is around us.
Thanksgiving kind of interruptsthe darkness, uh sort of like
fireworks that turn the dark skyinto brilliant color.
Well, the second key phrase herein verse 2 says, Serve the Lord
(04:31):
with gladness.
Now again, this isn't natural.
You know, it's one thing toserve the Lord, but here we're
told, be glad about it.
In fact, we're commanded to beglad.
How can you command somethinglike gladness?
Can you do that?
Well, you can.
If you're raising children,you've probably told them, you
(04:53):
know, you need to change yourattitude right now and put on a
happy face.
Or you need to stop poutingright now.
Let me see you smile.
I can hear my mother saying tome when I was a kid, young man,
you'd you'd better adjust yourattitude.
Well, evidently, she believedthat attitudes could be
(05:14):
adjusted.
Well, the psalmist did too.
So does God.
That's why he could say, servethe Lord whether you're glad
about it or not.
No, that's not what he said.
He's calling for an attitudeadjustment.
Serve the Lord and be glad aboutit.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1Thessalonians chapter 5.18, give
(05:37):
thanks in all circumstances, forthis is the will of God.
Evidently, adjusting ourattitude happens to be the will
of God every day.
Well, let me put it this way athankful spirit is not a
personality trait, it's an actof the will.
(05:58):
It's choosing to obey the willof God.
Well, the third key phrase herein verse two says, Come into his
presence with singing.
Can you imagine coming into thepresence of God with pouting?
Well, probably not.
Well, think about the fact thatwe live every day in his
(06:21):
presence.
We have access at any momentinto his courts.
So live with a spirit ofgrateful singing.
John Phillips, the Britishexpositor who wrote in the early
1900s, captured this sense ofjoy when you have access into
(06:41):
royalty's presence.
He told a story of a young boywas standing in London in front
of Buckingham Palace, tugging ona guard's jacket, saying, I want
to see the king.
I want to see the king.
Of course that guard wastrained.
He didn't flinch.
Well, a policeman was walkingback and forth out there moving
(07:02):
people along, and the boy wentover to the policeman and said,
I want to see the king.
The policeman said, I can't helpyou, Sonny, you're not allowed
in there.
Well, about that time a welldressed gentleman arrived and
overheard the conversation.
He held out his hand and said tothe boy, Come with me.
Well the guards sprang toattention and presented arms as
(07:25):
the policeman unlocked the gateand in they went, down the
corridor as they walked, andeventually right into the
presence of the king.
Well the little boy had takenthe hand of the king's son.
Beloved, we have access to Godthe Father.
Why?
Because we're being held by thehand of God the Son.
(07:48):
So every day we're able to comebefore his presence with
singing.
Well now the psalmist moves onfrom telling us how to thank
God, that is with joyful singingand the right attitude, to
reminding us of why we shouldthank God.
Well that's here in verse three.
(08:08):
Know that the Lord, He is God.
In other words, God is to bepraised simply because of who He
is.
He's God.
And what kind of God is He?
Verse 5 tells us the Lord isgood.
His steadfast love enduresforever.
He isn't going to change hismind about you.
(08:30):
He isn't going to forget hispromises to you.
In fact, verse 5 goes on to say,His faithfulness endures to all
generations.
That means generation aftergeneration after generation
after generation.
God remains the same.
(08:52):
He's faithful.
We can thank God.
Why?
Because of the kind of God Heis.
But that's not all.
We also can offer thanks to Himbecause of what He's done.
Well, back here in verse 3 weread, It is He who made us, and
we are His.
Listen, God crafted us.
(09:12):
God created us.
Psalm 139, verse 13 says, Hewove you together in your
mother's womb.
He designed you.
He wired you.
He gifted you.
He gave you every ability youhave.
He gave you every disability youhave.
You see, the truth is, you'renot going to be able to joyfully
praise God until you accept thefact that God designed you
(09:36):
according to his divine plan.
Every strength you have, everyweakness you have, all of that
is according to God's perfectdesign.
Your abilities, what do they do?
They give you reason to declarehis praises.
Your disabilities, what do theydo?
They give you every reason todepend on his power.
(09:57):
By the way, God not only madeyou, he plans on keeping you.
And that's the next part ofverse three.
We are his people and the sheepof his pasture.
You know, I am so glad, beloved,he didn't say we are his
thoroughbreds in his stable, orwe are his eagles soaring in the
heavens.
(10:17):
No, we are his fearful, timid,helpless, ignorant, prone to
wander, sheep.
But here's the good news.
The psalmist says, We are hissheep who belong in his pasture.
No matter where you are today,beloved, remembering who God is
(10:38):
and what God has done for yougives you reason enough to be
grateful.
I read a modern day parable of aman who came across a large barn
where Satan kept seeds ready tobe sown out there in human
hearts.
Well, the man found that theseeds of discouragement, there
(10:59):
were more bags of those seedsthan any other seeds.
They were just simply stackedeverywhere in the devil's barn.
When he asked about it, helearned that the seeds of
discouragement were a favoriteof Satan's because they could
grow almost anywhere.
One of the demons he questionedadmitted there was one place
(11:21):
where those seeds were not ableto take root and develop.
Well, where's that?
The man asked.
The demon answered, They won'tgrow in the heart of a grateful
person.
You know, it really isimpossible, isn't it, to be at
the same time anxious andgrateful, selfish and grateful,
(11:43):
proud and thankful,materialistic and grateful,
bitter and grateful.
You can't be hateful andgrateful at the same time.
Maybe that's why gratitudereally is one of the most
distinctive characteristics thatsets the believer apart from the
rest of the world.
(12:05):
A world that is anxious,selfish, proud, materialistic,
bitter, and hateful.
So let's make up our mindstoday.
Let's make this supernaturalattitude adjustment today as we
depend on the Spirit of God.
Let's make a joyful noise tohim.
(12:25):
Let's choose to serve him todaywith gladness.
Let's effectively sing to himthis original thanksgiving hymn.
And until next time, beloved,may the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God andthe fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
(12:47):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with
Stephen Davey.
To learn more about us andaccess all of our Bible teaching
resources, visitwisdomonline.org.
Our phone number is866-482-4253.
And you can email us at info atwisdomonline.org.
(13:20):
Stephen developed this dailyprogram to help you know what
the Bible says, understand whatit means, and apply it to your
life.
So please join us next time tocontinue the wisdom journey.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
These are ways of expressinggratitude.
Gratitude is one of thedistinguishing marks of a
follower of the Lord.
As a Christian, your attitudeshould be one of thanksgiving to
God for who he is and what he'sdone.
This should be central to yourthinking, your actions, your
(01:26):
attitudes, and your speech.
Today on the Wisdom Journey,Stephen arrives in Psalm 100.
He's called this lesson theoriginal Thanksgiving Hymn.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Has it ever occurred to you that the believer has
been commanded to be thankful?
In fact, one of the leadingdistinctives of believers is
just that.
No matter what happens, we givethanks to God.
No wonder the Lord modeled thisfor us in his own life while he
(02:00):
ministered here on the planet.
At the time of his greatestcrisis, you remember the hours
leading up to his crucifixion,he took the elements that
represented his agony andsuffering and gave thanks to his
father.
Well, that'd be like a man or awoman going back to that cancer
center where they they firstheard the news that they had
(02:22):
cancer and giving thanks.
That'd be like going over to thebank that just foreclosed on
your home and giving thanks.
You know, that'd be like goingto the intersection where
someone you love was in aterrible car accident and
actually giving thanks.
(02:42):
You know, right about now you'reprobably saying, Stephen, that
would be unnatural.
And yeah, I I would agree it'sunnatural.
Frankly, I would have to sayit's supernatural.
I believe that giving thanksabout everything is more
supernatural than we typicallythink, which is why, by the way,
the world is described asungrateful, where the believer
(03:06):
is marked by a spirit ofthanksgiving.
Why?
How is that possible?
Whether there's somethingsupernatural going on inside
your heart as a believer.
Now, today we come to Psalm 100,and the heading reads a psalm
for giving thanks.
You know, this is the onlypsalm, by the way, designated as
(03:28):
a public song to be sung for thepurpose of giving thanks.
You could actually call Psalm100 the original thanksgiving
hymn.
Well, this psalm, even to thisday, answers two questions for
us as believers.
How do we give thanks to God andwhy?
Well, how do we give thanks ineverything?
(03:49):
Verse 1 begins to answer thatquestion for us by giving us the
first of three key phrases.
He writes, Make a joyful noiseto the Lord.
Well, that might describe whatyou sound like when you try to
sing.
It's a joyful noise.
Well, let me tell you to keep onsinging.
(04:09):
This is a call to raise ourvoices with songs of
thanksgiving, no matter how darkthe world is around us.
Thanksgiving kind of interruptsthe darkness, uh sort of like
fireworks that turn the dark skyinto brilliant color.
Well, the second key phrase herein verse 2 says, Serve the Lord
(04:31):
with gladness.
Now again, this isn't natural.
You know, it's one thing toserve the Lord, but here we're
told, be glad about it.
In fact, we're commanded to beglad.
How can you command somethinglike gladness?
Can you do that?
Well, you can.
If you're raising children,you've probably told them, you
(04:53):
know, you need to change yourattitude right now and put on a
happy face.
Or you need to stop poutingright now.
Let me see you smile.
I can hear my mother saying tome when I was a kid, young man,
you'd you'd better adjust yourattitude.
Well, evidently, she believedthat attitudes could be
(05:14):
adjusted.
Well, the psalmist did too.
So does God.
That's why he could say, servethe Lord whether you're glad
about it or not.
No, that's not what he said.
He's calling for an attitudeadjustment.
Serve the Lord and be glad aboutit.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1Thessalonians chapter 5.18, give
(05:37):
thanks in all circumstances, forthis is the will of God.
Evidently, adjusting ourattitude happens to be the will
of God every day.
Well, let me put it this way athankful spirit is not a
personality trait, it's an actof the will.
(05:58):
It's choosing to obey the willof God.
Well, the third key phrase herein verse two says, Come into his
presence with singing.
Can you imagine coming into thepresence of God with pouting?
Well, probably not.
Well, think about the fact thatwe live every day in his
(06:21):
presence.
We have access at any momentinto his courts.
So live with a spirit ofgrateful singing.
John Phillips, the Britishexpositor who wrote in the early
1900s, captured this sense ofjoy when you have access into
(06:41):
royalty's presence.
He told a story of a young boywas standing in London in front
of Buckingham Palace, tugging ona guard's jacket, saying, I want
to see the king.
I want to see the king.
Of course that guard wastrained.
He didn't flinch.
Well, a policeman was walkingback and forth out there moving
(07:02):
people along, and the boy wentover to the policeman and said,
I want to see the king.
The policeman said, I can't helpyou, Sonny, you're not allowed
in there.
Well, about that time a welldressed gentleman arrived and
overheard the conversation.
He held out his hand and said tothe boy, Come with me.
Well the guards sprang toattention and presented arms as
(07:25):
the policeman unlocked the gateand in they went, down the
corridor as they walked, andeventually right into the
presence of the king.
Well the little boy had takenthe hand of the king's son.
Beloved, we have access to Godthe Father.
Why?
Because we're being held by thehand of God the Son.
(07:48):
So every day we're able to comebefore his presence with
singing.
Well now the psalmist moves onfrom telling us how to thank
God, that is with joyful singingand the right attitude, to
reminding us of why we shouldthank God.
Well that's here in verse three.
(08:08):
Know that the Lord, He is God.
In other words, God is to bepraised simply because of who He
is.
He's God.
And what kind of God is He?
Verse 5 tells us the Lord isgood.
His steadfast love enduresforever.
He isn't going to change hismind about you.
(08:30):
He isn't going to forget hispromises to you.
In fact, verse 5 goes on to say,His faithfulness endures to all
generations.
That means generation aftergeneration after generation
after generation.
God remains the same.
(08:52):
He's faithful.
We can thank God.
Why?
Because of the kind of God Heis.
But that's not all.
We also can offer thanks to Himbecause of what He's done.
Well, back here in verse 3 weread, It is He who made us, and
we are His.
Listen, God crafted us.
(09:12):
God created us.
Psalm 139, verse 13 says, Hewove you together in your
mother's womb.
He designed you.
He wired you.
He gifted you.
He gave you every ability youhave.
He gave you every disability youhave.
You see, the truth is, you'renot going to be able to joyfully
praise God until you accept thefact that God designed you
(09:36):
according to his divine plan.
Every strength you have, everyweakness you have, all of that
is according to God's perfectdesign.
Your abilities, what do they do?
They give you reason to declarehis praises.
Your disabilities, what do theydo?
They give you every reason todepend on his power.
(09:57):
By the way, God not only madeyou, he plans on keeping you.
And that's the next part ofverse three.
We are his people and the sheepof his pasture.
You know, I am so glad, beloved,he didn't say we are his
thoroughbreds in his stable, orwe are his eagles soaring in the
heavens.
(10:17):
No, we are his fearful, timid,helpless, ignorant, prone to
wander, sheep.
But here's the good news.
The psalmist says, We are hissheep who belong in his pasture.
No matter where you are today,beloved, remembering who God is
(10:38):
and what God has done for yougives you reason enough to be
grateful.
I read a modern day parable of aman who came across a large barn
where Satan kept seeds ready tobe sown out there in human
hearts.
Well, the man found that theseeds of discouragement, there
(10:59):
were more bags of those seedsthan any other seeds.
They were just simply stackedeverywhere in the devil's barn.
When he asked about it, helearned that the seeds of
discouragement were a favoriteof Satan's because they could
grow almost anywhere.
One of the demons he questionedadmitted there was one place
(11:21):
where those seeds were not ableto take root and develop.
Well, where's that?
The man asked.
The demon answered, They won'tgrow in the heart of a grateful
person.
You know, it really isimpossible, isn't it, to be at
the same time anxious andgrateful, selfish and grateful,
(11:43):
proud and thankful,materialistic and grateful,
bitter and grateful.
You can't be hateful andgrateful at the same time.
Maybe that's why gratitudereally is one of the most
distinctive characteristics thatsets the believer apart from the
rest of the world.
(12:05):
A world that is anxious,selfish, proud, materialistic,
bitter, and hateful.
So let's make up our mindstoday.
Let's make this supernaturalattitude adjustment today as we
depend on the Spirit of God.
Let's make a joyful noise tohim.
(12:25):
Let's choose to serve him todaywith gladness.
Let's effectively sing to himthis original thanksgiving hymn.
And until next time, beloved,may the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God andthe fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
(12:47):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with
Stephen Davey.
To learn more about us andaccess all of our Bible teaching
resources, visitwisdomonline.org.
Our phone number is866-482-4253.
And you can email us at info atwisdomonline.org.
(13:20):
Stephen developed this dailyprogram to help you know what
the Bible says, understand whatit means, and apply it to your
life.
So please join us next time tocontinue the wisdom journey.
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