Psalm 100:4-5 tell us …
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures.
This is one place in the Bible where we are told to take the initiative with God. Rather than simply responding to His overtures, we are told to be proactive in thanking and praising Him if we want to be close to Him.
Is this because God is distant and we need to manipulate Him to show up in our lives?
Absolutely not.
God is everywhere, and He has promised to always be with us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He doesn’t move away from us. It’s we who do the moving.
What is it that changes our proximity to Jesus when we choose to be grateful?
What changes is you and me.
When we thank God and worship Him it takes our eyes off ourselves and lifts them to Jesus. And somehow—whether our spiritual eyes become stronger or the veil between the material and spiritual becomes thinner or for some reason unknown to this writer—we experience God’s peace and joy and love more than before.
When we are open to God’s presence we begin to see our identity as His dearly loved child. Knowing how much we are loved is the spark that ignites gratitude!
START TODAY: Choose to enter God’s presence with worship and thanks today. Turn on KCIS and sing along with the music programs. Voice the things you are grateful for to Jesus, even if it means you are thankful IN and not FOR what’s going on in your life.
PRAY: Lord, thank You for the air You give me to breathe every day. Thank You for the freedom I have to worship You. Thank You for showing me who You are, Jesus, and drawing me to Yourself. Thank you for dying to pay for my sins. Thank You for loving me and never letting go. I praise You because You are worthy of all my thanks and praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ACTION: Spread gratitude today by sharing the identity we have in Christ with your listening family at KCIS. Your gift to the Grateful Fall Pledge Drive means listeners throughout Puget Sound and the world will hear about Jesus and His love for them.
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