Expressing Our Gratitude Aloud
Yael Eckstein | November 28, 2022
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. —Psalm 95:1-2
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a renowned Jewish theologian, once said, “It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.” Please enjoy these devotions focused on gratitude during this season when families gather to give thanks.
How do you tell God thank you? Do you do so privately during your quiet time with Him? Or maybe you write it down in your journal? Maybe it’s just a fleeting thought, a whispered thanks, as you arrive safely home from a long journey, or as you witness the beauty of the setting sun.
Everything we have is from God. Does He really need us to constantly thank Him out loud? I understand why it’s important to thank another person out loud. Otherwise, how will they know we acknowledge the kindness they have done for us? But does God need us to publicly express thanks to Him?
The truth is that expressing our gratitude aloud to anyone, God or another person, is critical to our own spiritual health. It’s not only for the person we are thanking. This is because giving thanks humbles us.
When I thank someone, I admit that they helped me, that they provided something for me that I couldn’t have done for myself. Many people have trouble saying thank you for just this reason. They don’t want to feel dependent on someone else.
Expressing Our Gratitude Aloud
Certainly, King David had no problem expressing his gratitude to God aloud. For example, in Psalm 95 we read, “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.”
David is encouraging us to thank God by singing and shouting.
We sing and shout for joy when we’re so happy that we want everyone around us to know about it. This psalm teaches us that we are supposed to be so comfortable in our dependence on God that we are excited and proud to let everyone know about it.
Our thankfulness is meant to be shared with others, aloud. We need to tell the object of our gratitude what we’re feeling, not just think about it. Not only is the recipient of gratitude blessed when we say, “thank you,” but we also are lifted up when we see the effects our words have on others and when we focus on the good things in our lives.
Your Turn:
Look for opportunities to verbalize your thanks to God with others. Maybe you can start by singing a brief song of thanks, like the Doxology, at one meal this week. Try it and let me know in the comment section what impact that had on you and others.