Enter

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Psalm 100:4 (ESV)

Today marks the second half of our 40 days of no complaints challenge. A lot of you have shared with me that your awareness of how much you complain has increased. 

I want to call your attention to how much you speak words of thanksgiving daily. Today’s text encourages us to enter God’s gates with thanksgiving. Basically, when you address Him, start with thanks. You can give thanks for all the good things He has done. You can be specific too. 

I know we all have days (years) when it seems like we don’t have a lot of reasons to thank God. I am here to tell you that we can always find thanksgiving in the midst of the mundane. 

Matthew Henry, who is a famous Bible commentator, got his wallet robbed. That night, before he went to sleep, he wrote about the things he was thankful for. He was thankful that first, that he had never been robbed before. Second, that though they took his wallet, they did not take his life. Third, because even though they took it all, it wasn't very much. Finally, because he was the one who was robbed and not the one who was robbing.” 

I want to encourage you to be thankful on purpose. Start your prayers with thanksgiving. Write down what you are thankful for at the end of the day. Trust God to bring out even more thanksgiving from your heart. 

Prayer: Lord, I give you thanks for all the things you have done for me. When I think of the past 12 months, I want to give you thanks for (tell God at least 3 reasons). Help me be found giving you praise all my days. In Jesus’ name, amen.