Can we truthfully say why we are thankful?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
        and his courts with praise;
        give thanks to him and praise his name.
(Psalms 100:4 (NIV))

Have you ever wondered why we give thanks to the Lord? The very next passage tells us why the psalmist chose to give thanks.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
        his faithfulness continues through all generations.
(Psalm 100:5 (NIV))

His reasons should be our reasons, but are they? Can we go deeper? Can we truthfully say why we are thankful?

Have you ever found yourself stopping what you were doing and lifting up a heartfelt thank you to God? Have you ever simply told the Lord that you are thankful for all that He has done for you? Have you ever faced something so overwhelming that you had no idea how you would make it through those circumstances only to find that He had gotten your through it? I could go on and on asking questions about different scenarios that should elicit thankfulness to the Lord, but I believe that I can stop. Hopefully you understand that there are so many different reasons to give thanks to the Lord. The psalmist chose to say that the Lord is good. He chose to tell us that His love endures forever. He chose to tell us that His faithfulness will never end. I honestly believe that there are some things within these three characteristics that we should focus on.

How has the Lord been good to you? Chances are good that they are too numerous to ever mention all of them.

How has the Lord shown you His enduring love? Besides the obvious one where He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins, there are probably far too many instances to count.

How has the Lord been faithful to you? Has He ever turned His back on you when you called out to Him? There is a much better chance that we have turned our backs on Him far more times than we care to admit. If we repent, He is faithful to forgive!

I would like to challenge you to personalize your reasons for entering His gates with thanksgiving.

Can we truthfully say why we are thankful?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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