Have you ever been told you were not good enough at something, and quietly stopped trying? In this Thanksgiving message, Pastor Linda Reese worked through Psalm 100 and told a story about a man who wanted to sing in a church choir and was never allowed to.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Psalm 100:1–2 (KJV)

You can sing off key here

She described a song by Zach Williams about an old man who longed to sing in a church choir. They would not let him, because he could not carry a tune. They did not even want him singing in the congregation. He finally joined a choir only after he died.

Then she said this about Little Falls Chapel: in this church you can sing off key and we do not care, because you are making a joyful noise to the Lord.

It was not an abstract point for her. At school she was told she could not carry a tune, so she never got into the choir and played her keyboard instead. Years later, at First Church of God on Rose Hill, someone told her and her husband Dave that they sang beautifully. They ended up in the choir, and eventually singing duets.

A joyful noise is not a performance

Psalm 100 does not ask for talent. It asks for a noise made on purpose: singing, clapping, saying amen, instruments, whatever you have. The question she put to the room was about attitude, not ability. Do you come in joyfully? Do you listen to the lesson, or watch other people? Do you watch the clock and think about lunch? She admitted the whole room had already thought about the turkey before the service started.

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). She gave five ways to live like that is true:

  • Shout His praises.
  • Appreciate Him as your Creator.
  • Accept His authority in every detail of your life.
  • Agree with the guidance He gives, because He will not point you down the wrong road.
  • Thank Him for love that does not fail.

Joy that does not move with your circumstances

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). Her point was that those three are commands rather than moods, and that they are meant to hold steady when things are going badly as well as when they are going well.

She was honest that this is hard. It takes time to be joyful when things have not gone the way you expected, and waiting is the hard part. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Sometimes the night feels like it will not end. Do not lose faith; God will make a way out.

Five minutes before you ask for anything

Here is the practice she gave. When you sit down to pray, spend five minutes just giving thanks before you start asking for anything. The first time, five minutes will feel long. After a while it stretches to ten.

She described her own habit of praying over small things. When she loses something in the house, which she says happens, she prays, “Lord, I know it is in here, show me where” — and then thanks Him when it turns up. You can pray at work without anyone hearing you. God hears a whisper.

Three things serving gives back

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). She listed what serving does for the person who serves.

It connects you to people. God did not make us for a relationship with Him only. Plenty of people nearby are worried, hurting and without hope, and one word can change how someone sees their life. Ask God to show you who to serve and how.

It shows you your own gifts. You usually do not know what you are good at until you start. An evangelist never finds out they are gifted at it without going out and doing it. When she first felt God calling her to minister, she asked her spiritual mother what the calling was. The answer was: you ask God, you get it from God, then you tell me. Sometimes He tells a person outright, as He did with Jeremiah — “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5).

It teaches you who God actually is. Many people know about God. Fewer know His character, and you learn that by walking with Him rather than reading about Him.

You do not need to quit your job, become a pastor or go overseas to serve. “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). Do your work as to the Lord rather than to impress a boss. The opportunities are already around you.

A Thanksgiving challenge

Two things this week. Give God five minutes of thanks before you ask Him for anything. Then find one way to serve someone that costs you a little and earns you nothing, and notice what it does to your own gratitude.

Related messages: Give Thanks to the Lord (Psalm 107), How to Worship the Lord and How Serving Others Strengthens Faith.

If something here speaks to you, send a prayer request (name and email are optional) or get in touch. You can browse every message, or plan a visit and join us on a Sunday at 10:00 AM. You can sing off key.