Thank You.
What a simple phrase. I think we’ve all said this or heard it at some point in our lives, but do we LIVE this? Do we live a life of thanksgiving? Or is it more a quick thank you to God now and then when things go our way?
The past couple months I’ve felt pretty convicted of this. So, I asked God to change my heart. I knew in praying this prayer, I wasn’t asking for a “fun” experience. I knew that it was going to involve more dying to self than I was doing. He’s still teaching me, and I’m by no means perfect, but I can tell you this though, my perspective has changed SO MUCH. I just want to share some of the things that I have learned about thanksgiving.
First off, my circumstances do not determine whether or not I give Him thanks. Maybe I’m having a really bad day, like one of those days where it seems like the world is against you kind of days. Do I put thanksgiving on the back burner because I’m just not feeling it? Absolutely not! This is the exact moment that I need to give Him thanks and praise. To my human logic, this makes no sense, AT ALL. In fact, because I’m not perfect, my tendency is to complain…which we all know doesn’t solve any problems. The truth is, our circumstances change all the time, but our God does not. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Psalm 145:3 says “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” This is truth. This is who He is, and He is always worthy to be praised! Now, I’m not saying you need to thank Him for bad situations or problems in your life, but thank Him for who He is, thank Him for His sacrifice on the cross, thank Him for all the things He has done in your life. In this, God fixes our focus. He shifts our eyes from self to Savior.
Another interesting thing I’ve found is the correlation between gates and thanksgiving/praise. Here are two verses that I’ve been led to over the past few weeks.
-Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”
-Isaiah 60:18b “You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”
I also want to share a part of Bill Johnson’s “The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind”. He writes, “Why do we have to endure uncertainty? That is a mystery, but the Bible hints at an answer when it gives a spiritual picture of a city called the community of the redeemed, or Zion (see Isa.62). Isaiah 60:18 says, “But you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.” In Revelation we see this gate called praise again and discover that is made out of one solid pearl (see Rev.21:21). Think for a moment. How is a pearl formed? Through irritation and conflict. A granule of sand gets inside an oyster shell, and a pearl forms around the granule to keep it from doing harm. The Bible’s pairing of praise with irritation is not coincidental. When we are stuck in conflict and uncertainty, and yet we praise Him without manipulation, it is a sacrifice. It means we are reacting in a way that produces something beautiful. In that moment, a gate is formed, a place of entrance where the King of glory can invade our situation.”
So, thanksgiving and praise connect us to God. I think this proves all the more that we need to praise Him even in undesirable situations. Also, going back to Psalm 100:4, it says we are to enter His gates with thanksgiving. So, when we pray, when we run to the throne room of our Mighty God, I believe the first thing we should do is give Him thanks. Psalm 95:2 “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”
The Holy Spirit convicted me in another way recently. As children of God, we can ask Him for things, which is an incredible blessing! A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the things I’ve asked God for that have not yet come to pass. God reminded me of something very important. I felt like He said, “You are asking for increase, but how can I give you more when you aren’t grateful for what you already have?” This is incredibly powerful. I am in NO WAY saying that my thankfulness earns me God’s blessings because it does not. I don’t deserve anything that the Lord has so graciously given. This question makes sense though. If I can’t be thankful and content with the very provision of the Lord, why would He answer my request for more?
I pray that this was helpful and that it draws you into a life of thanksgiving, not just in prayer and in word, but in deed. Philippians 1:27 “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel”. Let this be our goal!
Thank you.
-Allison
