Psalm 100: A Song of Thanksgiving

"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness 

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations."

Psalm 100

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States. We commonly refer to the first Thanksgiving in reference to the Pilgrims coming together to celebrate their first successful harvest alongside several members of a local Native American tribe in New England. Despite this being referenced as the first Thanksgiving it was actually not made a federal holiday until Abraham Lincoln made it one in 1863. 

Regardless of the history of the holiday we as Christians should be excited about an opportunity to remind ourselves of all the things we are thankful for. 

Thanksgiving is the first step into the presence of God!

It is easy to get caught up in complaining, it is easy to send our requests to God and impatiently wait for the answer. But this is not how we experience God's presence. God's presence is found in our thanksgiving, in our recognition of the blessings that God has bestowed on us. 

We all have been blessed by God in some way. Regardless of how hopeless your situation may seem I guarantee there is something for you to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Look hard if you have to but find what it is that is good in your life and be thankful for it! 

Seeking God Himself

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?"

Psalm 42:2

When was the last time you prayed asking God simply for Him? 

When did you last ask God simply for His presence? 

It's easy to forget prayer time altogether. It's easy to get busy with life and distracted by worries and cares around us, and forget entirely to pray. Because of this we often hear sermons pushing us to pray, to bring our worries before God. This is of course an important thing to do and a very Biblical thing to do:

"Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

1 Peter 5:6-7

However, often this is where we stop. Recently I have been pushing myself to increase my own personal prayer time. With a family, job, and school it is sometimes easy to forget to focus time in prayer but I have been setting aside time in the mornings lately to do just that. 

Even so, I realized this morning that it had been a long time since I sought God Himself. 

I have asked daily for His advice and His direction. I have thanked Him for His blessings in my life and brought my frustrations and cares before Him, but I never simply asked Him for His presence. In pursuing the gifts I had forgotten the Giver. 

I challenge you this morning, or whenever you happen to be reading this, to set aside all your other cares and desires and simply ask Him to meet you, ask Him for His presence, to reveal Himself.