Thankfulness

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!” (Ps. 100:4)

I’ve been thinking about thankfulness lately - about how much I have to be thankful for. It is a list that would be too long for one blog, let alone one blog-post. I suppose all the books in the world couldn’t contain all that we should rightfully be thankful for! And as crazy as that sounds, it really is true!

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever..”

Thankfulness is one of the main themes in Heaven surrounding God’s throne. I’m confident that when Jesus prayed that God’s Will be “done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10), thankfulness was one of the many things He had in mind. God deserves thanks – for what He has done, for what He is doing, for what He will do, and most importantly for who He is!

Thankfulness is a huge topic in God’s Word. God commands that we are careful to be thankful when we pray (Col. 4:2). He commands that it marks our lives in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18). And as quoted earlier, that we enter His presence with it (Ps. 100:4).

Here are a few things that I have learned about thankfulness:

1. Thankfulness is an expression of faith (Col. 2:7). Thankfulness is the foremost outward sign of a strong life of faith. Gratitude (thankfulness) left unexpressed is ingratitude. Get it? It stays in you. Let it out!

2. Thankfulness positions us to receive what God already intends for us to have (Jn. 12:38-44). When you are on the precipice of something great, thankfulness for God’s leadership in every facet of it will position you properly to access it. Basically, accessing God’s promises begins with being thankful for them.

3. Thankfulness unlocks a tender heart (Ps. 139:17-18). People with tender hearts receive freely the thoughts God has about them. The same things that move God’s heart move theirs.

I have found that as my eyes have opened up to the truth of a God who is good at all times, thankfulness in my life has increased and opened my eyes even more. “Thank you Lord” has become the most consistent phrase in my devotional language towards God; and I’m still just scratching the surface of all that I should be thankful for. My encouragement for you is to increase in thankfulness towards our great God – and watch what happens to your life when you do!

Be Blessed!

Andrew