BENEFITS OF THANKSGIVING (1)

“ENTER into His gates with THANKSGIVING, and into His courts with PRAISE. BE THANKFUL to HIM, and bless His name” – Psalm 100:4

ACCESS to GOD is one of the fundamental BENEFITS of THANKSGIVING: “ENTER into His gates with THANKSGIVING, and into His courts with praise. BE THANKFUL to HIM, and bless His name” (Psa.100:4). Psalm 100 is a familiar and very beautiful psalm that talks about coming into the house of God – entering His Presence. It reveals two stages of Access to God. The first is through His gates; the second is through His Courts. The gates give us admission to the courts, and the courts give us access to the actual House of God, wherein is His Throne. But we cannot enter except by the prescribed route – “into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise”!

Believing in the efficacy of these scriptures, we know that no one gains intimate access to God unless he or she comes this prescribed way – with Thanksgiving and Praise. It’s possible to feel at times, that despite our prayers, we’re still a long way from God. Quite possibly the reason could be that we are not approaching Him by the prescribed route. We can stand outside the courts and shout at God, and He will hear and have mercy on us. But we would not enjoy close access to the Father unless we come with thanksgiving and praise.

The psalmist gave five reasons to thank God: (a) He made us – He created us; (b) He takes ownership of our lives – We are His people; (c) The Lord is good; (d) His mercy is everlasting; (e) His truth endures to all generations (vv3, 5). No matter how we feel or what our circumstances are, these facts never change: God made us; He owns us; He is always good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations. So, we have five unchanging motives for thanking God. When we focus on these eternal aspects of God’s Nature and of His dealings with us, rather than on our feelings or situations, we’ll find ourselves thanking Him ceaselessly.

The role of prayer cannot be underrated in relating with God. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” John Wesley, in his comment on this verse in his journal, isolated three words, “everything by prayer,” and said, “I am persuaded God does everything by prayer and nothing without it.” This is a basic truth that cannot be faulted. However, Paul added that whatever request we have, must be brought “with thanksgiving” That’s our Access Code!

Psalm 100 presents pictures of the gates and the courts of the tabernacle from the Old Testament. Now, in Christ, we can “come boldly to the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Heb.4: 15-16). But Thanksgiving is No.1 Access!