As the year gradually comes to an end, it is important that we approach the remaining days of the year with a heart of thanksgiving. This blog is thus titled: “Give Thanks”
Let’s take a look at the book of Ps.100:4-5: “4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name, 5. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
The above verses emphasize the place of being thankful to God.
Thanksgiving is what flows out of a grateful heart. Grateful hearts don’t see what has not worked. They choose to focus on what is working.
Giving thanks doesn’t just start and stop at singing, it also has to come from a place of understanding. This will be well explained under “keys to giving thanks”.
There are five(5) keys to giving thanks:
1. The Key of Joy:
In Ps. 100:1: “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!”
Joy is an important aspect of thanksgiving. Worry is a thief of joy; and it can’t buy you peace. Hence, allowing anxiety in your space will not give you the opportunity to be grateful.
2. The Key of Singing:
The scripture says in Ps. 100:2: “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.”
You cannot take out singing songs of praise/worship in giving thanks to God. Thanksgiving and Songs are inseparable.
After the Israelites have successfully and triumphantly crossed the red sea in Exo 14, they sang praises to God to show their gratitude for their deliverance.
“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider have been thrown into the sea!” (Exo 14:1).
Songs of thanksgiving seals your victory.
3. The Key to Dependence:
Psalm 100:3: “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
This verse shows three roles of God: Lord is God, our creator and our shepherd.
Our total dependence on God, as our God, creator and shepherd, will help us let go of every sense of self-sufficiency, and totally depend on Him, in thanksgiving.
4. The Key of Praise:
Praise is an expression and appreciation of who God is. Let’s look at what the Bible says in Ps.100:4: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.”
You need an instrument of praise to be truly thankful.
5. The Key of Gratitude:
Gratitude is a true testament of the state of our heart. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Ps 100:5). This verse gives us three key attributes of God that must elicit gratitude from you: The Lord is good, The Lord’s mercy is everlasting, and the Lord’s truth endures forever.
When you begin to understand more of the significance of giving thanks, you’ll discover that you always have what to be grateful for.
Your life is a proof of God’s mercy, whether you know it or not. Look deeply. Search inwardly, there is always something to be grateful for. The gift of life, and salvation are some of the key reasons to be grateful.
A grateful heart will naturally give thanks. Don’t hold back in giving your praise to the most high God.
Say this prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to continually live in the consciousness of your graciousness upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
