PASSAGE:
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation."
- Psalm 100:4-5
DEVOTION:
I think the Lord is telling me a couple of things with this passage:
1.) That gratitude and thanksgiving is essential when it comes to serving Him and His ministry, and
2.) That He is the ultimate source of resilience and sustainability.
First, GRATITUDE IS KEY. Before we enter His courts, we need to have a spirit of thanksgiving. We need to be thankful for all that He has granted us, and we need to maintain a posture of humility and submission to His will and purpose. We won't be able to be in a thankful spirit if we do not submit to the Lord's plan for us and if we refuse to acknowledge His sovereignty. We start by ACKNOWLEDGING that our LORD is GOD. We praise Him and celebrate Him. We thank Him and not whine about what we think are shortcomings of His plan. There are no mistakes in His work---just us refusing to see His will and forcing our own.
Second, HIS LOVE ENDURES. Because His love endures, and because it is His faithfulness that continues throughout generations, we can securely say that He is the ultimate source of what stands the test of time. He is the prime supplier of what lasts beyond our lifetime. Even if we can't, HIS love endures forever. We cling to Him to see what resilience really is. When we think we can do things OUR way, those things will never last. Our fallible nature would not allow it. But if we hinge our plans, dreams, and hopes to Him then those would stand the test of time. For He is faithful FOREVER.
This may seem like a hard task to do (and for the most part, it is), but this is simply because we have grown so accustomed to picking and choosing what WE think living the Christ-centered life should be. That sounds more like a self-centered life, disguised as something else entirely. We need to let go of the tantrums and embrace the fulfilling purpose the Lord has for us.
Yes, we indeed are sinful by nature, but with a God so loving, so forgiving, and so powerful, He had overcome our sin and overturned our verdict. We need to start embracing HIS act of salvation, and in turn, HIS plan and will for our lives. The gates are open, and courts are filled to the brim with praise.
PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for saving us. And thank you for continuing to be patient with us. May you keep on opening our eyes to the wonders of your plan, and may you keep turning our heads away from the atrocities of our selfishness. May the light of gratitude and humility shine on the darkest corners of our hearts. Thank you for loving us unconditionally.
In Your name we pray,
AMEN
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