Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving...(Psalm 95:2)
As a child I was taught by my parents to say "thank you" when someone gave me something, or did something nice for me. As a result of that training, I continue to say thank you for things that others may overlook. For instance, when driving on the freeway and I need to move into another lane, I always waive my hand as a sign of thanks to the driver that lets me over. However, when I do the same for other drivers, many times they will make no acknowledgement at all. I even say thank you to the mailman or woman when they bring my mail. Some people just take the mail out of their hands without a word. Attitudes like those sometimes carry over in our response to God. Either we just take it for granted that He knows that we are thankful, or we don't really appreciate what He has done for us.
In Psalm 95:2, the writer makes it clear that our approach to God should be with thanksgiving. We should sing and shout joyfully to Him for His goodness. God is great, and worthy to be praised. He is our Shepherd and we are sheep of His pasture. To come before God in any other way would be disrespectful.
On November 25th Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Certainly that is appropriate. But as Christians we also want to emphasize the real source of our blessings. If it were not for the Lord on our sides, where would we be right now? The fact that God even allows us to come before His presence is worth shouting about. But when we remember that He will never leave us nor forsake us, there should be no doubt that we should be TELLING GOD THANK YOU all day long.
Have you told God "Thank You" today? Did you thank Him for waking you up this morning. Or because He put food on your table? And what about the fact that He put clothes on your back? If you have not done it yet, take time out right now, and just tell God, "THANK YOU!"
