Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving
A Meditation and Prayer Guide for Psalm 100

by Tim Gunnells

I spend a lot of time reading, meditating, and praying through the Psalms. I pray before I read, asking God to use His Word to transform my life. I read silently sometimes, and sometimes I read aloud. I then meditate on words and phrases that stick out to me. Then, I use a psalm as a guide to pray.

I go back to certain psalms over and over again: Psalm 1, Psalm 23, Psalm 46, Psalm 51, Psalm 63, Psalms 95, and 96. The psalm that I have found myself turning to the most over the past 4 or 5 years, however, is this one: Psalm 100.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Why do I return to this particular psalm over and over again?

Is it because it is short? There have probably been a few times when I just wanted to read a brief passage, and this one fits the bill, certainly.

Is it because it doesn’t have any difficult phrases or verbiage that prevent me from understanding it? Sure, I think that has something to do with it.

The primary reason I return to this Psalm over and over again is because of the reminders it gives me that help me to live out the Greatest Commandments to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. It helps me to love God and people more.

Here are some of the reminders that I need daily, and I am sure you do as well:

I need to be reminded to praise and serve God joyfully.

Sometimes I don’t feel like life is treating me fair. Sometimes I grumble and complain and store up bitterness in my heart; but when I do, my relationship with God and with others takes a nosedive. The psalmist reminds me to approach Him joyfully and that the whole world needs to join with me.

I need to be reminded that He made me, and that I didn’t make myself. I didn’t make Him either.

The Bible is full of true stories where people thought too little of God and too much of themselves. We know people who have done and are doing the same thing; forgetting Who made them, and Who it is Who should be honored. When I am at a low point, when I think less of others, when everything becomes about me and what I want and what I think I deserve, I need to be reminded that God made me, and that He is the center of the universe, and He is supposed to be the center of my life. When I remember this profound but simple truth, I love Him more, and I think more of other people.

I need to be reminded that I am one of the sheep in His pasture, and that He cares for me.

I cannot take care of myself without God giving me what I need. I am a sheep, and I am not the Shepherd. The pasture belongs to Him and not to me. He is the caregiver, the provider, and the protector.

I need to be reminded to offer Him my thanksgiving and praise on a daily basis, because He deserves it.

As the psalmist says, He is the One who made me. He is the Shepherd, and I am the sheep. He provides all that I need and more. I don’t deserve what I have been given, but He gives it anyway.

I need to be reminded that He is good, and that His lovingkindness never ceases.

Though friends betray Him, God never has and never will. Though people might break their promises to me, and I might break promises to them, God will keep His promises. Though trials and suffering may come my way, He goes through them with me and gives me enough grace to handle them.

Yes, God is worthy of joyful praise. God is worthy of thanksgiving. It’s all about God and not about me. I need to be reminded of these facts for my own benefit.

Prayer: Dear God, we do come to you in joyful praise. We exalt You as the One and Only God, the maker of Heaven and earth. You are the Shepherd, and we are but sheep. Thank you for caring for us, providing for us, and protecting us. Thank You for being faithful to us. Please forgive us when we make ourselves the center of our lives and forget about You and what you have done, are doing, and will do for us as Your children. We praise Your Holy name. In Jesus’s name, Amen.