"Let us come before Him with thanksgiving..."
There is the key! As long as I focus inwardly I will remain stuck. But when I lift up my eyes and focus on Christ and what He has done, I am free. The best and most acceptable posture to come before Him in is thanksgiving.
Another powerful verse in the Psalms states,
"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." (Psalm 50:23)
When I offer thanksgiving, I prepare the way for God to work. When I give Him the glory He is due, he delights to further reveal Himself and His power. When I honor Him (even if it's a sacrifice) He meets me.
Wondering what the will of God is for your life? "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). ALL circumstances, at ALL times. Thanksgiving.
"I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips" (Psalm 34:1).
So I choose today not to focus my thoughts on my own circumstances and feelings, which change so easily. Instead, I look to God my Rock, the Faithful, Unchanging One, and what He has already done in my life.
Here are a few things I'm thankful for today:
the Love of my Heavenly Father, salvation through Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, my husband, my family, our church and ministry community, our home, for music, for fellowship and friends, for the Word of God, for creativity, for shelter and clothing, for financial provision, for technology like Skype so I can keep in touch with friends, for daily protection, for grace, for touch and smell and taste and sight and hearing, for sunshine and rain, for a warm cup of tea.
How about you? What sacrifice of thanksgiving can you offer today?
I was wondering about the word sacrifice! It is so easy for us to thank God for the obvious good... that will help to prepare a way, but is it a sacrifice? To thank Him for that which we do not perceive as good... A real way is built for testimony and glory to Him when we thank Him for the hard, discouraging and saddening. My dad challenged me on that one! So! I am thankful for: distance from my family and friends, health problems, and our many moves!
ReplyDeleteInteresting point...
DeleteI might not agree 100%, just in that the Bible tells us to give thanks IN all circumstances, not necessarily FOR all circumstances. I don't believe that health problems, for example, come *from* God, even though he can use them as he promises for our good and His glory. There is so much evil in the world (and like you said, perceived "evil" in our own lives) and I think the key isn't to sacrifice with thanksgiving for the bad things going on, but to fix our eyes above the circumstances and give thanks for WHO God is - unchanging, always good, loving, having the best plans. Like Job, who never said thanks that his family died or that he lost everything...simply that God was still worthy of praise.
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