'With Thanksgiving'

By Rev. Edroy “Curt” Curtis, lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church and president of Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association

Coming into this Thanksgiving week, I took note of a few verses of scripture that include the words “with thanksgiving.” As you read the following verses, please observe what accompanies thanksgiving:

Psalm 95:2 — “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”

Psalm 100:4 — “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

Psalm 147:7 — “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God.”

Philippians 4:6 — “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”

This Thanksgiving season, let me encourage you to do the following things along with your giving of thanks:

1.  Come before God’s presence. Set aside time to come before God.  This could take place in a worship service or you could do this at a special place in nature, God’s beautiful creation or you could do this while listening to a specific meaningful song that directs your attention to God. There are so many ways to come before God’s presence.  What is so important is that we take the time to do it.

2. Shout joyfully to God in song. This one may not come so easily to you. Not everyone feels comfortable singing, or shouting for that matter. But perhaps it is easier than we think. Have you ever played hide and seek? When we want everyone to come out of hiding, we sing/say “Ollie Ollie in come free!” Actually, I’ve never understood that statement. All I know is that when you say it, everyone comes out of hiding. The statement is shouted in a singsong kind of way. What if instead of “Ollie Ollie in come free!” we shouted/sang “Father God, we give You thanks!” Why not try shouting joyfully to God in song?

3. Enter God’s gates and courts with praise, blessing His name.  Go to a place of worship with the express intention of praising God and blessing His name. Write down a few things you love and appreciate about God and then speak them out at a house of worship — not loudly so as to draw attention to yourself, but in the quietness of your own space.

4. Sing praises to the Lord. Let’s not just sing songs about the Lord; let’s sing songs to the Lord. Most of us do not have access to harps, but many of us have access to a guitar — or in my case, a piano (a great stringed instrument, a harp connected to piano keys).

5. Let your requests be made known unto God. You might be thinking, “God already knows what I need and what I want.” That is true, but God loves to be asked. And when we ask God, we are humbly coming before Him and acknowledging that we need Him.  Like a moth is drawn to a flame, God’s presence is attracted to persons who express trust and dependency in Him.

So this Thanksgiving season, I challenge you (and me) to express our thanksgiving to God in one or more of the aforementioned ways.  Just try it! You may be amazed to find that when you do, God shows up right then and there and ministers exactly what you need at that moment. Happy Thanksgiving!