With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” Ezra 3:11
Thankfulness brings the presence of God into our lives.
God’s presence is always with us and in us, as believers. However, we need to intentionally turn our attention to God to experience his presence, and over the past few days we’ve been talking about how praising him is one of the best ways to do this.
There are many ways to praise God. We’ve talked about singing, shouting, making joyful noise and laughter. And, according to today’s verse, another biblical way to praise God is thanksgiving.
Psalm 100:4 echoes this sentiment. It says that we “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” Psalm 69:30 says that we can “praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving,” and Ephesians 5:19-20 encourages us to always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When we focus on what we’re grateful for, it’s so much easier to be aware of the presence of God. We can still be conscious of our problems, but if we remember that God lives in us, if we remember the times he has come through for us, if we remember his promises and what he’s done for others, we can stay in faith and be empowered to get us through whatever we’re dealing with.
Being thankful doesn’t mean you’re settling for your current situation. You can believe God for a change in your situation while thanking him for the blessings you have. So, even if problems are pushing at you today, find something to be thankful about, and you’ll become conscious of God’s presence in your life to a greater degree.