Thanks, thanks a lot

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. – Psalm 100:4

It is the time of year when we set aside a certain day, time, place to meet, eat and give thanks. These thanks are typically directed for something, someone or a reasonable facsimile. They can be difficult to find and may lack sincerity.

It is interesting (although not surprising) that as a society we need a yearly reminder to do this. It might just be that much more goes into thankfulness then we realize. Thankfulness may seem small and insignificant, but it is directly integrated into our soul.

The goodness of God is the source of a thankful heart. It is a deliberate purpose of loyalty to the Father that draws you into seeing and hoping for the important points of life. This goodness (kindness) leads, lives and sows as it goes. It has a past and uses that to produce an enduring future. It does not allow solitariness to become loneliness as the cultivated heart numbers your days (Psalm 90:12).

Kindness also leads to an identity that does not permit your life to become blurry, allowing issues to lack identity. Without giving and receiving thankfulness, life can become something of a person looking into a mirror and not quite seeing what they want or thought.

Thankfulness is action. It is going, knowing, growing and entering God’s presence with thanksgiving (confession) in our hearts. It is the ability to know that the LORD is good, His mercy is everlasting and that it is His truth that endures to all generations (Psalm 100:5). It is the essence of what He is desiring for all and the fragrance of what we must be experiencing. The attitude of gratitude that not only is changing individual lives, but the world. It is a lot, but if exercising daily is slowly becoming a law of our soul.

Thankfulness is an expression of a complete heart and a surveying of the world from a watchful eye. It is what was meant to be and then destroyed in the Garden of Eden. It involves intentional living and the goodness of God as the source as well as individual action. It is not something deserved or earned, but that is only experienced by your distinct participation.

A heart that is refining daily is learning to give a lot, hurt a lot and produces a lot. Be thankful. In looking for the good, you and others will be forever changing for the better.

THANKS: - PASTOR DAVE

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. – Col. 3:15