Giving Thanks
By Peggy Kleckner
“Enter His gates
with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and
praise His name.”
Psalm 100:4
I
have spent some time of late pondering the words “come and worship.” They were
printed on an invitation to a women’s Christmas luncheon at our church and have
just stayed with me over the last several weeks. “Come” is certainly an all-inclusive
invitation word, but what of “worship”? Is it just singing? Is it music? Is it
being quiet or being alone? I think it’s actually more an act of bowing my
heart to God’s headship - - to His right to sit on the throne of my life as
King. Yet not only bowing to His
authority, but also fully accepting and receiving His great love for me, and
then willingly loving Him back.
Today,
I was reading an article that was speaking of the birth of Christ. How “imperfect”
that birth looked to us. No room at the inn, a stable, no family nearby. That
imperfection was part of God’s sovereign plan. It was His right to choose the
setting. Into that very “imperfect” situation, God placed His greatest gift and
He sent out the invitation to “come and worship.” He called all men to step
away from their work, their worry, their hurry and find their answer in Him
alone.
As
we head into the Christmas season, how appropriate that we are first called to
gather and celebrate Thanksgiving. Our thanksgiving ushers us through His gates
and into His courts to worship and to bow our hearts to His headship and His
great love - - as our Redeemer, our King.
Since most of the world does not know Him, is it any wonder that they
run over this holiday and head straight to Christmas? As believers, shouldn’t
we be setting our hearts first to thanksgiving? We have already received the
gift of His Son, our redemption.
That
first Christmas had the setting of rush and throng as well, and into its midst,
God sent His peace, His gift to all mankind. May we use this day of
thanksgiving to ready our hearts for true worship; let us live lives of
gratitude. He abides in us and with us. Oh, that we would look and act
noticeably different both at our Thanksgiving tables and then along the path to
Christmas Day.
Today,
let us bow our hearts - - grace-filled hearts of thanksgiving - - and worship
our King…preparing Him room to display His peace through our imperfect lives.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What “imperfect” situation is keeping you
from thanksgiving?
2. Where is
He calling you to display His peace?
FURTHER READING:
Peggy is a wife and
mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active
encourager at Oakwood
Church in Delafield. She
serves as the Coordinator of Fresh Start.
