Gratitude
“Enter into His Gates with Thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4. Thankfulness and gratitude encompasses a lot of ground for the believer. I’m sure we all are thankful to God for all that He has done, is doing and is going to do in our lives.
The heart of gratitude, I believe, comes out of a heart of generosity. The ability to “Give” not just out of need, but also out of generosity. In Acts 10 a man named Cornelius was as such. Cornelius was a devout man, one who feared God along with his entire household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed always to God. In verse 4 of the book of Acts an angel of God comes before Cornelius in a vision and tells Cornelius “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.” As Cornelius lived this lifestyle of prayer and generosity God set up a memorial to remember Cornelius.
Giving isn’t always financial. There are many ways to give that can make a huge statement in the heavenly places. To give out of a heart that is generous to me looks like helping someone else get ahead and truly being happy for their success, being there to change a flat tire for someone who needs help, or giving money to someone who didn’t expect it. God is the father that wants to bless His children and when he does we are filled up so that we can go out and give again. To me, it is understanding that what we have we give out of generosity.
Out of this heart of generousity I can enter His gates with thanksgiving and rest in the strength of the provider who is there for all my needs both physical and spiritual. I am able to be thankful to Him for what he has done for me and through me to bless those around me.
Bless His Name!!!
Rod