LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 100:4, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

 

We are headed into a wonderful time of the year; a time we need to be thankful for the many blessings we have been given and a time we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord. I have thought over the last few days about the song that we have all sung at some time. “Give thanks with a grateful heart”!

 

We can get so busy with meal preparation and preparation for guests that we do not take the time to respond to God for His goodness to us. Our response should include thankfulness and praise for all He has done for us. Actually, that thankfulness ought to be a daily act on our part.

 

You and I can be thankful that He never changes. He is always loving, more than willing to listen to us tell Him about our times of joy and our times of hurt and confusion. He is always patient – He never gives up on us. He is faithful and true to us and pours out His mercy continuously to us. Take the time to remember the many blessings He has given to you and give Him the praise and thanksgiving He deserves for what He has done.

 

Even in those times when giving thanks is difficult, we can do so. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, tells us to give thanks in everything, in all circumstances. When we give thanks with praise we focus on the One who is in control of all things instead of focusing on self-pity and complaining about that which we cannot control. In a devotional by John Hagee Ministries, the writer states that thanksgiving is the key that opens the door that ushers us into the presence of God where miracles happen. If that is true, why would you and I not be thankful in every circumstance knowing that doing so pleases God. Think of the thanksgiving and praise as a gift you bring to Him, worship to the One who created you and desires to guide you as you walk the narrow way into His kingdom.

 

Read verse 5 of this Psalm. “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” God’s faithfulness is constant. True biblical praise and thanksgiving focus on who God is. It comes from the heart; you and I cannot help but thank Him for what He has done for us. He has saved us from slavery to sin, gotten us off the broad way to destruction and placed on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. What has He done specifically for you that you can thank and praise Him for?