Throughout the bible we are taught of the importance of giving thanks to God. Christ Himself as well as Paul, David, Peter, and many other teachers implore us to thank God for who He is and what He does for us. Conversely, there is much teaching on not giving thanks and the state of our hearts as a result. Our thankfulness, or lack of, has a tremendous impact on our spiritual lives. Being ungrateful brings out a side in us that drains away the things of God within us and our lives. To be ungrateful is not of God, and when we have things within us that are not of Him, there grows a distancing.

God has done and continues to do so much for each and every one of us, and there is plenty to be thankful for. Sadly, as Christians we can grow fat and lazy in our thanksgiving and praise as we fail to see the abundance of His goodness to us. God has given each of us salvation, He blesses us, heals us and looks after us. He is very much with us and continues to save and transform lives.

‘’Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise’’… To come from where we are into the presence of God we must do so with thanksgiving. We can’t go through those gates to meet with Him by just bumbling along with a thankless attitude. It is a requirement from God that to enter into His court, we must do so with thanks, praise and worship.

‘’Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving’’… God knows we go through difficult times, however He instructs us to be anxious for nothing through prayer and thanksgiving, yet I see many Christians held under a cloud of darkness in their stressed and anxious state. When we have a thankful heart, we are doing things in the way that God wants us to, we are doing what is right and are not led by the selfish standards of the world, and it is in this He is able to give us peace that surpasses all understanding. Without it we continue to live in turmoil.

God is good to us; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures, and it is right that we give thanks for all that He is. Examine your heart today, is it one that is thankful, or are you someone who is ungrateful and can’t even see what you should be thankful for?

Christ is faithful to His word and He is worthy. Don’t sit as an outsider in turmoil, but come and enter into His court with thanksgiving and praise, as one who belongs to Him, and He will guard your heart and mind, bless you, and keep you in the good place He has for you.

Amen.