Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.--Psalm 100:4
So on Fridays we have a class called Power of the Cross. Each week is a different topic about how we can live a Kingdom-minded lifestyle. The topic this week was thanksgiving.
Richee used the tabernacle to illustrate the importance of thanksgiving in the lives of believers. The gate of the tabernacle was called "The Gate of Thanksgiving." The very first step to enter the presence of the Lord was to give thanksgiving. And because thanksgiving was a part of the tabernacle, it is safe to assume that thanksgiving is a form of worship to God.
It's easy to say that you are thankful for something, but have you really walked in a spirit of thanksgiving? I know I haven't been, especially this past week. I have been on night guard this week, and the temperature, with windchill, has gotten as low as -41 degrees. Needless to say, I often found myself in a spirit of complaint. But, given that thanksgiving is a form of worship to God, one might assume that complaining is a form of worship to Satan.
A spirit of complaint is an easy doorway for the enemy to get a foothold in our lives, but a spirit of thanksgiving will send the enemy running. The enemy knows this. So he tries to get us stuck into a rut of complaining.
But we don't have to stay in that rut. I encourage you to sit down and write out all of the blessings the Lord has given you. You think your list won't be long, but once you get started, you'll find that it's hard to stop. After you make the list, take some time to just sit in the Lord's presence and thank Him for those things.
I know I have so much to be thankful for. I have food to eat, a roof over my head, a family who supports me, a girlfriend who encourages and helps me, friends who push me. What are you thankful for?
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