In ancient days, walls surrounded cities, keeping them safe and establishing territory. Within the walls, various gates allowed entrance. Ancient Jerusalem was no exception, boasting 8 Gates with even one called Beautiful. These gates open to Jerusalem, but God provides an entrance leading into His presence, the Gates of Thanksgiving!
If we imagine God in His Holy dwelling like a walled city, the only way to be able to enter at all is through Jesus the Gate.
“I am the gate! If anyone comes in through Me, he will be saved.”
John 10:9 TLV
But as born-again children of God, our Father calls us to come even closer into His presence. I’m sure you would agree, there are many ways for us to come close to our Father – Prayer, Praise, Fasting, the Word, etc. Yet God provides another way, a beautiful gate for us to enter no matter where we are.
There is a power in the act of saying “thank you.” It acknowledges a kindness or gift from another. However, when we say “thank you” to God, it’s not just transactional; it’s alive. If we thank Him sincerely, something opens within our spirit and He touches us with His presence. Our thanks become the gate, and we enter His presence through the Gates of Thanksgiving.
David wrote about it in the lyrics of Psalm 100.
Psalm 100
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to Adonai all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
3 Know that Adonai, He is God.
It is He who has made us, and we are His.
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise!
Praise Him, bless His Name.
5 For Adonai is good.
His lovingkindness endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100
Tree of Life Version
He Makes a Way!
I have walked with Father God almost 60 years now and may I say there were seasons in my life, when I did not feel able to enter into God’s presence with joyful singing and shouting! Many times, I felt stuck on the other side of the wall, but God always helps us to get to Him!
During one very dark period in my life, I experienced God’s living presence at the Gates of Thanksgiving. I was a young mother then, married and in ministry. I had every reason to be happy, yet a deep darkness ate away at my soul. I don’t know if you have ever lived through depression, or walked through deep valleys, but all light seems to seep away from within, and arid silence settles in.
I was always very skilled at functioning, and at the same time hiding my pain. I had done this all my life, but now I had come to the end of my own strength. Each morning, I came to God to pray and ended up apologizing for my failure and for the dark shroud of sadness I wore.
My heart seemed like stone, frozen, dead. This was so scary! I knew I had to reach my Father. I tried every way I knew to connect, prayer, reading the Bible, fasting, etc. Yet even with all that effort, I still could not sense His presence.
I was sure, God had given up on me. I was sure He thought I was ungrateful. Guilt pierced my heart a thousand times as I blamed myself for not finding joy in my kids, my husband, my home or my God.
The Invitation to Enter
One morning, face down on the floor, while trying to reach God, I finally gave up. I apologized to God for that dead feeling inside my heart. I was born-again but felt as lost as a boat without an anchor on a stormy sea.
It was then the Holy Spirit spoke in to me.
“Lori, get up and go to the window, I want to show you something.”
Our living room had large windows, so I rose to my feet and looked out. I could see the pine trees right outside, scrubby grass, and slushy muddy snow, a drab winter landscape. Nothing special.
“What is it, Lord? What should I see?”
“I want you to thank Me.”
What a challenge this was. Everything I could see seemed dark, doomed, lifeless.
“I can’t.”
“Just try,” the Father answered.
From the time I was a tiny child, I could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speak. Perhaps it was because of the environment I grew up in, filled with sorrows and traumas. But the Lord always guided me and comforted me. So, although I felt empty at that moment, I trusted Him.
Entering Through the Gates of Thanksgiving
I looked out and saw only a dismal scene. “I can’t feel anything to thank You for, Father.”
“Then thank Me for the air. You are breathing. Thank Me for oxygen.”
This seemed a bit strange, but I began to speak.
“Father, I thank You for air. I thank You for the oxygen in the air.”
After repeating this out loud, and insisting on it with my heart, something inside of me started to shift. I was entering the Gates of Thanksgiving.
“Father, I do thank You for the oxygen, because my cells need it.
Thank You for providing it for us to live!” I was on a roll.
It felt like air came into my lungs after a long time of holding my breath.
Then I looked at the pines. “And Father, thank You for the trees, because they take in the carbon dioxide I breathe out, and they use it to breathe. Thank You that they give us back oxygen to breathe again.”
A bird came along and perched in the pine.
“Father, thank You for the beautiful birds of the air
and the pine boughs to protect them in the cold months.
Thank You for feeding them, even when there is nothing to eat. I don’t know how You do it!”
I looked up.
“Thank You for the cold clear blue sky! Thank You for color! Thank You for life!”
I had entered God’s Gates of Thanksgiving! He was waiting for me there!
Once You’re In . . .
One-by-one thoughts came of things for which I could give thanks. Joy shook my heart as I marveled at the goodness of God! The Father’s loving presence filled that living room with the power of His Spirit. My cup overflowed!
By choosing to trust God and enter those gates, I began to break free from the stranglehold of sadness. As I thought of more reasons, more joy filled me and I wept with gladness praising the God Who held on to me in the windy waves and never lets us go!
These Gates are Always Open
TRAINING – After that glorious morning, day by day God taught me how to enter into His presence through the Gates of Thanksgiving. My healing and deliverance was not instantaneous, I had to fight for it! But God taught me to fight, and now I encourage others!
GOD WANTS US – God deeply desires you and I to come close and be saturated in His lovingkindness. We don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven to experience God’s presence. He knows we need strengthening right now.
THE CHOICE – Entering is a choice. When I sense hardness in my heart, or feel far away, I remind myself that my Father loves me and wants me to come close. The choice is mine.
When I do choose to enter, I am never disappointed; God ushers me into His life-giving presence and peace.
HUMILITY – I find that when I am stressed out, a bit of control gets in God’s way. It’s then I need to remind myself, God is God and I am not. That is something we all can be thankful for! Giving thanks requires us to bow our hearts down and lift up the One Who watches over us!
SINCERITY – It’s not “lip service.” Engaging our heart, is crucial to sincerely thanking God, but it’s a fight to keep it focused on Him. A good method is to recount all that Jesus has done for you. Soon gratitude will flow like a river of praise from within.
THANKSGIVING TURNS TO PRAISE
Here’s the path, we start with thanking God and soon end up with praising God! The Gates of Thanksgiving are just the entrance. As we thank Him, we comprehend not only what He does, but Who He is!
Creator, Savior, Healer, Provider, Protector, Rock, Father, Refuge, King, Mighty One, etc.
We can never run out of reasons to Praise God! Thanksgiving always turns into praise!
Give It a Try
If you haven’t tried entering through this gate, I pray you will realize how much your Father in Heaven desires for you to come close to Him.
I pray you will still your heart and begin to sincerely speak thanks to your Father, as if He is right there listening. He will meet you at the gate!
As you open your heart, let praise come out, in your own words.
Your Father will bathe you in His lovingkindness and joy as you enter through the Gates of Thanksgiving.
Amen!
HERE’s MORE TO INSPIRE YOU to STOKE THE FIRE of FAITH WITHIN!
Thank you for sharing your experience and offering us a challenge, Lori.
Diana
God Bless you and I hope you and your house have a joyful Thanksgiving!!
Thanks for being so open about your struggles.