The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 The Lord [a]reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many [b]islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,
Who boast themselves of idols;
[c]Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all [f]gods.10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And give thanks [g]to His holy name.
This psalm is full of praise and thanks, and reminds one of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, “Rejoice always… in everything give thanks.” Now, one could take that a couple different ways. We might think we have to give thanks for everything, even cockroaches, spiders, snakes, and sickness. Or we could read more carefully and see that he said “in” everything, which means when you are sick, or in pain, or whatever the case, give thanks for something.
Not necessarily giving thanks for what you’re going through, though God can use anything to work in your life, but give thanks for something else. Get your mind off your trouble, and on something for which you are thankful. This psalm gives us plenty of reasons to rejoice, not least of which is that God is in Lord over (and in control of) all the earth.
But stepping back a bit further even, I need to be reminded to give thanks even when good things happen. How often do we just let “small wins” slip right on by without any acknowledgement? I was reminded by a friend the other day to celebrate a win, even though my mind was already moving on to the next thing on the to-do list.
So stop a second, right now. Think for a moment of what you have to be thankful for, and especially any wins, big or small, that God has brought into your life recently. Then take the time to rejoice, to celebrate, and to thank the Creator of all that He remembered you, and always does.