By Eric Jinkwen

---

Psalm 103:1-2
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:”

In most Churches we have entered the season of Harvest Thanksgiving or Annual Thanksgiving. It is a period set apart to intentionally appreciate God for His goodness and kindness towards us.

In reality, we have to thank God everyday of our lives because His goodness and kindness do not come to us in a particular season, they are for life. Psalm 103 helps us to understand some of the major headlines of our Thanksgiving to God.

He forgives all our iniquities,

He heals all our diseases,

He redeems our life from destruction,

He crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

He satisfies our mouth with good things, So that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

He executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

The Lord will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
He does not punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Read also: Give thanks to God always

Do you see all of that? That is just a handful of the manifestation of God’s kindness and goodness to us as seen by the Psalmist.
Can you think of your own life and appreciate God this morning? God has been good to you, appreciate Him intentionally.
Praise the Lord!

Giving thanks to God should be a lifestyle

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

As we look through the Bible, one of the striking instructions is to thank God in everything. How can we thank God in every thing.
Our text says, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In everything, means everything. Think of everything, good or bad, material or spiritual, give thanks to God. Thank God for your body, every part; thank for food, for the weather and so on.
Someone said, “Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns”. It is all a matter of perspective and paradigm. Some people see a glass half full while others see it half empty.

What about you?
MY GLASS IS HALF FULL, Hallelujah!!!
We thank God for our job or profession. The work we do should be with a thankful heart (Col 3: 17).
Some people are jobless. So, be thankful if you are working. Every work done in grumbling is a waste. If your heart is not happy for what you are doing, change it or find joy in it.
Is your work a pleasure or a pressure?
Any work you cannot do with joy, enthusiasm and passion, change it.

God looked at His work at the end of each day and He was glad, even though it was not completed until the sixth day.
The problem with many of us is that we have lost our joy, and we cannot be thankful. Some circumstances have killed our joy. If we do not learn to praise and thank God in everything, we will loose everything and not have anything.
Learn this truth, thanksgiving prepares the way for the lifting of the Lord. Let us see it in Habakkuk 3: 17-19a:
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Read also: Be the light in the darkness

The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.”
You can thank God in everything. Choose to remain thankful and grateful, very soon, you will be full. Hallelujah!!!

Thanksgiving and Praise are the Protocol to Enter God’s Presence

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

Have you seen the protocol to enter God’s Presence? Praise and thanksgiving. Why? “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” Hallelujah. Praise and thanksgiving are the protocol in approaching God’s presence; that is, you lift up your hands to celebrate Him for who He is and what He has done.

In the old system of worship, there was a ritual of animal sacrifices to offer at the altar before one could approach God. The sacrifice was either a sin offering, a peace or fellowship offering. Jesus Christ summed up all those sacrifices when He offered Himself on the Cross. He made a free open way for us into God’s presence. But there remains one sacrifice we offer to God, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Glory to God!

Look at Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore by Him (Jesus Christ) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hallelujah !!! Did you see that?
In Psalm 118, we have the same idea reiterated. “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.” (Psalms 118:19‭-‬21)
The gates which the righteous should enter through is called praise or thanksgiving.
When we violate this protocol, we come out of God’s presence empty.

Can you imagine the blessings of God’s presence?
The presence of God is the realm of unlimited blessings. Psalm 16: 11, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
The presence of God makes the difference in one’s life. The presence of God is all about His grace, favor, blessings and power.
Another benefit of God’s presence we can consider this morning is His strength. Thanksgiving gives us access to God’s strength.

Read also: Your knowledge of God will determine your worship

The psalmist wrote, “But my horn You have exalted like that of a wild ox.” Praise the Lord! ‘Horn:’ is the emblem or symbol of excessive strength and mighty grace) AMP
Thanksgiving is usually a joyful moment and the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Joy has gratitude at its tap root. Joy is a booster of strength: physically, spiritually and mentally strength.
When you lose your joy, you lose your strength and potentials and life begins to depreciate.
Proverbs 17:22 reveal that, A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Remain, joyful, thankful or praiseful to God, you will never miss the presence of God, and you will always go from strength to strength, (Ps 84: 5-7). Hallelujah !