Psalm 100 (CEV)
The Lord Is God
1 Shout praises to the Lord,
everyone on this earth.
2 Be joyful and sing
as you come in
to worship the Lord!
3 You know the Lord is God!
He created us,
and we belong to him;
we are his people,
the sheep in his pasture.
4 Be thankful and praise the Lord
as you enter his temple.
5 The Lord is good!
His love and faithfulness
will last forever.
Thankfulness
A thankful heart opens doors that are closed to others. A thankful person is welcome everywhere. When we can keep a thankful heart, we keep joy and peace. Our vision is open to see many usually hidden things.
As we walk with the Lord with a heart of thankfulness, we are able to see the needs of others more quickly as our hearts are softened to the Lord and he opens our eyes to the world around us. We are recipients of more of His grace, abundance and peace. Why? Because of our openness to Him and His world, He responds quickly. Our hearts are open to His needs and His heart is open to our needs.
Thankfulness stops complaining and grumbling in our hearts and mouths. How can we gripe and be thankful at the same time? We can’t do it. It is a choice we make daily. To look for things to be thankful for is fun. Like, sunsets, sunrises, birds singing or soaring, the clouds forming above our heads, the cool breeze, the warmth of a puppy, flowers in bloom, autumnal trees, the smiles of a friend or stranger; any of these can be portals to thankfulness. Each of us has a different thankful list. The top of our list should include the Lord Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, our blood and spiritual families and friends who really care about us. Some of us should add the privilege of free worship in a free nation. A precious black brother in the Lord used to have a saying, “Thank you Lord for breath, health and strength and that the blood is still running warm in my veins.” Clarence is gone now, but those simple words still resonate in my heart.
What is on your thankful list? Why not start making a list and see how long it gets? Mine would fill a book if I started today and would take a year or so to complete.
Thank You Lord Jesus for all that You are!