Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to the Lord and praise His name. Psalm 100:4
I find it very challenging how often the theme of thankfulness comes up in both the Old and New Testaments. Here in Psalm 100 it is connected to praise. We are exhorted to always come into the Lord’s presence with a heart full of thankfulness and words full of praise. The Psalmist encourages us to ‘praise His name. His name is His character, His power His words and His ways. These are the things we are to focus our minds upon and in thankfulness to recognise how He has been present in our lives to bless and help us.
As I reflected, I asked the Lord why there is so much emphasis on thanksgiving and He gave me a picture. I saw a house that was in the process of being built. It was beautiful in its design and strong too, with really deep foundations. The brickwork was so warm in its colour and the windows were large, letting in lots of light. There were flowers climbing the walls and in baskets and the house seemed to exude peace and welcome. I saw people coming up to its open front door and as they went in they immediately felt safe and full of joy.
I said, ‘What is this house Lord?’ He replied that as I choose to live a life full of thanksgiving, that He is building me into a house that is full of His beauty but also full of His strength. People feel drawn in because of its atmosphere of thanksgiving and it creates a safe place of hope and trust to all who come.
I felt amazed and full of wonder that the Lord wants to make us all into a house like this and that through us choosing to be thankful the door is opened to other people around us stepping into thanksgiving with its legacy of joy and peace in their own lives.
These thoughts really encouraged me to become a more thankful person but sometimes it can be hard to feel thankful when life is challenging or difficult things happen. Do we have to force thankful words out when we feel more like crying?
Paul has some interesting thoughts in Philippians:
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things…and the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:5b-9
Paul points us to the fact that God is constantly with us. Yes, circumstances may happen that are overwhelming or distressing but we can bring them to the Lord with thanksgiving that He is near and ready to help us. It’s not denying that things are hard but welcoming Him into them that brings ‘peace that passes understanding.’
A couple of days ago Marilyn was returning from a train journey when her knee and back suddenly crunched and became excruciatingly painful. This was on top of a whole series of major losses that had been hitting Marilyn and she was shocked. Yet even as she struggled with the pain, she became full of thanks that the accident had happened when she was at the very end of her journey. Her friend was able to get her in the car and bring her home. If it had happened on the train it would have been so difficult. She realised that ‘God was near’ and felt His deep peace. She knows He is at work despite all that’s been happening.
But sometimes we just don’t feel we can get our hearts into a thankful place. In a group someone shared how their heart felt hard and stony and it can be that way for us all at times. A picture came to me of God encouraging us to simply give all our hard and stony feelings into His hands for Him to deal with. I saw Him then creating a beautiful garden and those very stones being laid out to become little rockeries filled with beautiful flowers. I found it deeply moving that the very things that make us feel alienated from God, He uses to create beauty with as we place them in His hands. Be encouraged that nothing is too difficult for Him to transform. I am reminded of Marilyn’s song ‘My heart is now his temple’ which expresses how through Him living within us, we become ‘dwelling places’ full of His beauty and peace: My heart is now a dwelling place, where God Himself can live. A place where God’s Spirit comes, His peace and joy to give. A house where God’s beauty and glory may be seen. My heart is now His temple He has made me new and clean.’ (My Heart is now His Temple © Marilyn Baker)
Prayer Thank you dear Lord Jesus that through you I can be thankful even when times are hard. I give you my stony heart and pray you will transform it into something beautiful. Thank you that you are making me into that lovely strong house, a house of thankfulness and peace where others can feel welcome and loved. I long for that dear Lord. Amen.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord giving thanks to God the Father through Him: Colossians 3:17
