Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
"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." ―Psalm: 100:1-5
Thanksgiving, observed on the fourth Thursday of November, is a day of giving
thanks. It commemorates the Pilgrims' celebration of the good harvest of 1621.
Thanksgiving is an outgrowth of gratitude. What parent is not delighted when a
child who receives a gift from them says, "Thank you." Most parents
understand that gratitude is a key to a life with meaning. Someone has aptly
said, "An attitude of gratitude will determine your altitude."
This Thanksgiving I'm sure will find you, like me, experiencing or having
recently experienced storms, tribulations, and frustrations in your lives. Often
we allow these outside temporal situations to hinder our praise and
thanksgiving. We allow our minds to dwell too much on the dark side of our
experiences. The glass is always half empty. We tend to look too much at what
others have, rather than what we have. Others' plights, should be even more
cause for thanksgiving. I heard someone say, "I used to complain because I
didn't have any shoes, until I met the man that didn't have any feet."
The author of the cited Psalm recognizes that prayer is first of all an approach
to God and not the presentation of a celestial shopping list. We come first to
give rather than to take; offer rather than request. The psalmist describes the
priority of prayer. "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his
courts with praise." In prayer we should approach the loving Father with
praise and thanksgiving.
While I would agree that the journey for African Americans has been a
bitter road to trod, we still have come a long way. I'm sure I can declare
without successful contradiction that most of you who will read this article,
are doing better now than you ever have. Doing better, yet more thankless.
Thanksgiving comes out of the remembrance that, "It is He that hath made us
and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."
(Verse 3)
Thanksgiving and praise is an act of will. That is, my thanksgiving and praise
is required even when I don't feel like giving thanks and praise. Sometimes you
may not feel like praying. Sometimes the pain is so great, the disappointment so
painful, and all around seems like sinking sand. But remember, thanksgiving and
praise out of teary eyes and a broken heart is sweet savor to God. Paul said it
best, "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the
Spirit." (I Thess. 5:16-18).
Listen to the psalmist: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise
shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34:1) Read Psalm 43. The author
is depressed because of his difficult circumstances, but he is determined to
give thanksgiving and praise to God.
Memory of His blessings should encourage our praise. Every now and then we
should, Count our many blessings, name them one by one. The story of the 10
lepers in the Gospel of Luck illustrates the need and the reward of
thankfulness. While 10 lepers were healed only one came back to say, "Thank
you." By thanking God for the first blessing, he received a second
blessing. Failure to offer thanks can clog the channel of blessings. "When
praises go up blessings come down."
Why not use this Thanksgiving Day to reflect and meditate on the goodness of God
to you. Consider His faithfulness, that "morning by morning new mercies I
see, all I have needed thy Lord hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord
unto me." Then we will burst out in a crescendo of praise and thanksgiving.
We will make a joyful noise unto the Lord declaring, "Praise God from whom
all blessings flow."
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