NearnessSample

Matt Redman is a Christian songwriter who wrote the worship song ‘10,000 Reasons’. One night in 2015, he was scheduled to perform a worship set when he learned that his mother passed away. Given a choice to cancel, Matt instead chose to sing the song, and others, to keep praising and worshipping God.

Matt later reflected that worship had become his lifeline through both triumph and tragedy. In the tension between heartbreak and hope, he chose to give thanks, believing that God’s goodness didn’t fluctuate with circumstance.

Psalm 100:1 (ESV) opens with a radiant invitation: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!” This kind of joy isn’t shallow—it’s defiant in the best way. It declares that God's character, not our context, shapes our praise. “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3, ESV). Belonging to God fuels our gratitude.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:4 (ESV): “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Paul penned those words from a prison cell—from a place of physical discomfort, but spiritual conviction. Joy in the Lord isn’t a mood; it’s a movement of the soul toward eternal truth.

Psalm 95:2 (ESV) adds: “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” Thanksgiving unlocks deeper fellowship with God because it lifts our gaze above our circumstances and reminds us of who we are eternally.

Today, ponder this: Wherever you are today, find three things to thank God for and praise Him for it. Let gratitude reposition your heart!