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Step 3: Be Thankful "Enter his gates with thanksgiving…" (Psalm 100:4).
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a distinct act of will. It requires us to recognize the hand of God in our lives and to thank him for it. Through thanksgiving, we give God credit for what he has promised, and what he has done. Through worship, we praise God for who he is. When I sit in the safety of my Secret Place ... When I gaze into his face ... When I know that I have communed with the Most High … When I feel his presence and realize the awesome privilege of touching his face... then something happens inside of me. It springs up from the very center of my being like a spring of Living Water. Let me try to do this without tears, because I am rarely able to when I am in that place. I find it hard to express my gratitude. When I think of the high price he paid for our fellowship, I am humbled to my core and my legs lose their strength. I find myself on my face. I can only remember a song I heard a while ago... When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. See now his head, his hands, his feet. Sorrow and love flow mingled down; did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? O the wondrous cross, O the wondrous cross. Bids me come and die that find that I may truly live. O the wondrous cross, O the wondrous cross. All who gather here by grace draw near and bless your name. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Ya'ad means to betroth and is the same word used in Exodus 29:42-43 when God told the Israelites to build him an altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle courtyard so that he could ‘meet’ (ya'ad) with them there. Jesus is the fulfillment of the picture God gave to them. He is the sacrifice that we needed in order to access the Secret Place. More than any other thing I feel thankful for, I am thankful for his single act of love. The precious price he paid so that we could have sweet fellowship with him. D. M. McIntyre said: “The benefits of that gracious Covenant that is ordered and sure are all confirmed for our use and pleasure by the blood-seal. For there is not a gift His hands bestows, but what cost His own Heart a groan.... Let us frequently commemorate our redemption from a bondage more bitter than that of Egypt.” One Easter when I was a little girl, I watched the story of the Cross on TV. When Calvary came and they nailed the Lord’s hands and feet to the cross and hung him up, I wept bitter tears. I was angry at the people who could do such a cruel thing. I was so upset that my mom had to carry me from the room and calm me down. “Why,” I cried, “did they do that to him? He was such a nice man! Why?” Many years later I sat in the bathroom of a movie theatre after watching the movie The Passion. I was a Christian at that point, seasoned with age and love. But I felt that same ache I had experienced as a child. My heart’s cry was, “Jesus! My Sweet Jesus! Oh, I love you! Look what they have done to you!” I grew angry with myself and with all of mankind for sinning and making it necessary for him to endure such pain. “My Jesus, I am so sorry for making it necessary for you to go through that!” Yet, because he loves all of us so much, he was willing – in fact, he said through Paul that he counted it joy (Hebrews 12:2). I can not imagine that! So the Lord’s sacrifice should be first and foremost in our gratitude of him. When we forget all his good deeds for us, ingratitude sets in. And then we are on dangerous ground. Ingratitude The Psalms are filled with expressions of thanks to God on every side. Oh, may our lives, our lips, be continual psalms of thanksgiving! The apostle Paul commands the same principle in the New Testament. Regardless of the circumstances, we are to be thankful and think on the good things the Lord has done. "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep you hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) Ingratitude and silence shows that we despise what the Lord has done for us and brings shame to his great works (Psalm 106:24). In
Everything, Give Thanks In prayer we are exhorted to give thanks profusely for the goodness of the Lord, for all his benefits, for his mercies, for his faithfulness, for his steadfast love, for loads of blessings. Psalm 100 is an excellent guide for entering the presence of God. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Forget
Not All His Benefits
His
Tender Mercies are New Every Morning Checed
{kheh'-sed}: goodness, kindness, faithfulness, mercy, kindness, loving
kindness, goodness, kindly, merciful, favor, good, goodliness, pity.
Remember that the Lord is intimately acquainted with each and every pain, fear, frustration and distraction you feel on any given day. Everyday, before you even get up out of bed, he is already being moved by his pity and compassion for all those tender areas in your life. Later, we will learn to pour our hearts out to him from this tender place. But for now let’s remember one thing: He’s already moving into action by his tender mercy on our behalf. Remember his tender mercies, and thank him for them. This is a response to his intimate knowledge of our heart of hearts. It is how he shows us how concerned he is with us in a very real and personal way. Thanksgiving
for our Bodies This is a particularly difficult area for many women. Most of us believe there is always something wrong with our bodies. The media has implied that we’re not thin enough here or voluptuous enough there, that our faces are too lined or sagging…and what's with all those dimples on our thighs, right? So when we’re told to thank God for the body we have, we want to scream, "For what!" Let's get real here. When we’re in the Secret Place, we all know it's true! Somewhere inside, we may question, "Is this what I have to thank God for?" Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that God is eternal? I do. I believe God saw my body as it is right now this very second on the day I was born and as it will be the day I die. And yet he says... 1Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. 2Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. 3Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. 4Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 5Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. 6Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. 7Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. 8Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. 9Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. 10How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! 11Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. (Song of Solomon 4:1-11) Sister, if he can see your body as fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) than so can we. It's time to throw out that canned stereotype of what a beautiful body should be and see our own bodies through the eyes of God. Thank him for that body he gave you just the way it is today, with no changes whatsoever.
Thanksgiving is a Sacrifice to God Hebrews 13:15 points out that thanksgiving is a sacrifice to God. "A sacrifice of our lips" that is to be offered up to God continually. Thanksgiving is not easy. It’s tough to be thankful and express thanks from the heart for everything. Wouldn't prayer be wonderfully transformed if we would offer ten sacrifices of thanksgiving for every request we make of God? Here’s a good way to begin... 1. Thank God for 5 Past Answered Prayers and Blessings 2. Thank God for 5 Present Circumstances and Blessings 3. Thank God for 5 Bad Things That Have Happened 4. Thank God for 5 Promises of What Will Happen |
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