A week after the day we’ve designated as the day to formally give thanks, and I’m still thankful. :) How about you?
Often we use Psalm 100—“Enter His gates with thanksgiving”—or Psalm 136—“O give thanks unto the Lord”—as our main verses during the Thanksgiving season. But this year, I wanted to find something fresh and not often used. I stumbled upon the perfect one as I prepared my company's greeting for the holiday—Psalm 26:7.
DON'T YOU LOVE IT!
According to Merriam-Webster’s, the word publish means
1a: to make generally known
b: to make public announcement of
2a: to disseminate to the public
b: to produce or release for distribution specifically : PRINT sense 2c
c: to issue the work of (an author)
Other words for publish include
advertise, announce, annunciate, blare, blaze, blazon, broadcast, declare, enunciate, flash, give out, herald, placard, post, proclaim, promulgate, publicize, release, sound, trumpet
In our writerly lives, we have the privilege of making known the importance of giving thanks and of being grateful ourselves. What a privilege to express ourselves through writing and to leave parts of ourselves on the earth long after we’ve passed on.
By writing, we get to make a public announcement of our gratitude—to blare, broadcast, proclaim, and trumpet—and disseminate, release, and distribute it to the public, encouraging them to explore and express their thankfulness, creating an outbreak of thanksgiving.
We can do this directly by just stating what we are grateful for OR we can do indirectly, and creatively even, through the way that we generously and painstakingly press each word on to the page carefully considering how each one will touch the heart of that one reader.
Here are some others that pulled on the connection between thanksgiving, praise, and publishing:
"I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God" (Deut. 32:3).
"Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not" (Jer. 50:2)
"And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God" (Amos 4:5).
"For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel" (Jer. 31:7).
And this one as the basis for a declaration or confession:
"And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region" (Acts 13:49)
All of these verses are from the King James Version of the Bible. This Bible version gives us great verses to associate with our modern understanding of our assignment to publish the word of the Lord. I love it!
So all this leads me to challenge you to…
A quick writing exercise
Take your favorite verses or verses that are speaking to you in a particular season, look them up in various versions of the Bible, and rewrite them as personal prayers of petition, thanksgiving, warfare, and/or deliverance. You can also make them short declarative statements forecasting what you believe, what you want to see happen, or what you believe God sees and wants to happen.
Praying the Scriptures is a popular practice and builds your prayer vocabulary, helps you memorize key passages, and, more than anything, builds your faith (Romans 10:17). Rewriting Scripture as prayers, confessions, affirmations, or declarations imprints the word of God on your heart in even more significant ways that only writing can.
So as an example of how I would use Acts 13:49, here it is…
REPHRASED AS A DECLARATION
The word of the Lord WILL BE published throughout all the regions of the earth.
or
Let the word of the Lord be published throughout all the regions of the earth.
or
May the word of the Lord be published throughout all the regions of the earth.
What verses are standing out to you now? How will you use them in your prayer time, writing practice, or statement of faith in this season of thanksgiving, awe, and wonder?