Happy day after Thanksgiving! I hope your bellies are full but your hearts are even fuller. I wanted to take some time this week to talk about what Thanksgiving means to me this year. I’ve been talking a lot about living the abundant life that God has called us to live, overcoming our hard seasons, and living fearlessly for the Lord. These have all been powerful and true words but a lot of times it is easier said than done. We believe in God’s blessings for us but actually feeling His blessings in our lives is not always the case. Also we believe in God’s strength to help us overcome but we struggle to actually have the breakthrough manifest in our lives. But because we can’t feel it or see if yet doesn’t determine whether it is there.
So when we are standing at the door of our blessings, our healing, our joy, our restoration, and all the other goodness of God, but we just can't seem to reach them what do we do? According to the word of God the door is most likely bulging with pressure of the fullness of the joy, peace, and love He promises but here we are feeling like we are standing on the other side.
I imagine us as little kids, standing at the door crying out…. “Let me in!!” We want so badly to come into God’s presence and be covered and filled with his love and peace! I can’t tell you how often I repeat to myself scripture and truths to remind myself I have access to these things. I ask God’s love to overflow in my life, I beg to feel it, I beg for fullness but it is not everyday that I actually tangibly feel it in my life. Do I doubt that it’s there for me? No, I believe fully in the word of God…but in certain seasons or certain days I still can’t feel all of it.
So I continue to cry out…”LET ME IN!” And just like in our childhood, it was so annoying when your older sibling held the door close just to say…WHAT’S THE PASSWORD? You can’t come in without knowing the secret password! You would try word after word…sometimes if you had a gracious sibling or friend they would end up deciding a word was good enough and let you pass the threshold but you may have had a sibling or friend that used this as a tactic to keep you out. No word you came up with would ever work and they left you there trying over and over again knowing they were never going to let you in.
Well our God says, “Ask and you shall receive!” He is the friend that will let us in. So what keeps us from entering into his presence and experiencing his love? What blocks us from our blessing? What hinders us from his will for our lives?
What’s the secret password?!?
God says, in Philippians 4:6, “...with THANKSGIVING give your requests to God.” We’re requesting to receive what is behind the door. There is a longing in our hearts for God’s word to manifest in our lives. There is nothing wrong with asking for these things, they are God’s promise to us, but He requires us to approach Him a certain way.
In Psalm 95:2 the bible says, “Let us enter his presence with Thanksgiving.” In Psalm 100:4 it goes on to say, “...enter His gates with Thanksgiving...For the Lord is Good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
I’m writing this post in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning. In the last 2 weeks I personally have been begging to feel God’s love. I know He loves me but I want to feel overjoyed with the fullness of Christ’s overflowing unfailing love for who He has created me to be. I have cried out! I am still struggling!
I hope this post helps you like it is helping me right now. I’m switching the way I approach the gate of His presence. Begging….”Let me in!” doesn’t grant me access to what’s inside. But today I am switching it. I’ve been given the secret password….
Father God, Thank you for your love! Thank you that you will fill my heart, thank you that you are love and you’re love is unfailing! I am so thankful that no matter what I do, don’t do, get right or get wrong, you never leave me. Thank you that you look upon me and call me precious. Thank you that every morning when I wake up you are there. You are gracious, you are my strength, you are my rock, and I am so thankful for you! Thank you for the way you love me through my husband and son! The love they show me is beyond measurable and I am so grateful!
There’s nothing wrong with asking to enter into God’s presence and receive His blessing but just remember to enter it with Thanksgiving. Give thanks to all that He’s done, all the good things in your life, and for all that He is. His love endures forever. Sometimes He graciously blesses us without us even asking but here is where I challenge you and myself to unlock the areas that we feel are blocked. There is peace for our anxiety, love for our broken hearts, joy for our sorrows, comfort for our loneliness, favor in our finances, mending for our families, and the list can go on forever. Let’s use the secret password. Let’s give thanks!
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