Give Thanks
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalms 100:1-5
I am reminded often of the song, Give Thanks. It starts off with the line, Give Thanks with a grateful heart. I process this when I am having a difficult day. How can I give thanks while still walking through the trials of life?
When The Tabernacle was built in Exodus, we were given a progression of relationship building with our Father.
Outer Courts = Thanksgiving
Inner Court = Praise
Holy of Holies = Worship
`This progression lays out a path to the presence of God. When we begin cleaning out our own hearts and offering up thanksgiving in the outer courts, our lives begin to be renewed. It is in the outer courts of the tabernacle that we begin to prepare our hearts for praise and worship.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34
It is in the state of thanksgiving we begin to grasp the understanding that God is due all the praise and worship. We serve a relational God who desires us over any form of religion. Our offering of thanks sows seed into fertile ground.
The entitled soul can never give thanks.
True thanksgiving is an offering from the heart and not lip service. We live in a society where we are judged by the portrait of another person’s life. It is a compare and compete game that interrupts how we should offer thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the first step to entering His presence. When it is hard to be thankful, it makes the gift all that more valuable. Sacrifice is hard and it is why it is step one to praise and worship.
We offer up thanksgiving not because of who we are but because of who He is. Our thanksgiving removes selfishness, pride, entitlement, comparison, and covetousness. It opens us up to a relationship with our Creator. Being thankful is the first step of recognizing who He is!
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalms 116:16-19
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