Text: Nehemiah 12:27-47, Psalm 16:1-11
After months of toil and years of living in and around a broken city, Jerusalem is done. Complete in record time. People are in, the temple is ready.
What happens next? A giant celebration of the Lord’s faithfulness to provide and protect them during this time! But this was not just a party. This was a dedication.
You see, Jerusalem wasn’t simply a city. It was the holiest city on earth. It was God’s chosen city for His chosen people. It deserved to be treated as such. We read in the verses about rituals that were followed, special people who were invited, traditions that were kept. The Israelites, though known for their grumbling in most of their stories before, knew this dedication was of the utmost importance to get right. Not to show off. Not to follow rules set by man. But to show their God they truly loved and appreciated what He had done for them.
I wonder in our lives how often we stop to give the Lord our very best in thankfulness. When we avoid a car accident, when our child gets well, when that house we wanted becomes ours. There isn’t anything wrong with a quick, “Thank you, Jesus” in a stressful situation. Yet, do we follow up? Do we take time to reflect on the blessing given to us, to come before God with the very best?
In this age where things move at the speed of light, it’s so easy to pass over any kind of preparation as we come before God. But when we thank Him, it’s important to slow down, to take time to fully comprehend just what we’ve been blessed with and did not deserve. It’s important to take time to see the miracles in our lives that we miss when we just rush past.
Let us still our hearts before the Lord and pray with the Psalmist, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:2) Amen.
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68 thoughts on "come before him with thanksgiving"
Oh, did I need this reminder. We are so blessed by God, in so many ways, but we take it for granted. Lord, let me marinate in the blessings You give me – help me to thank You fully and meaningfully. I don’t want to just let those blessings pass by, for You deserve all the thanks I can give – and more!
"marinate in the blessing. . . . " love this
Joanne, as a chef…..I can so appreciate your words….'.to marinate in the blessings you give me…..' AMEN…
God bless you..x
Lord, I pray Joanne's prayer as well. Help me to see every blessing around me– and to take it all in slowly, meaningfully, letting it soak into the soil of my soul. Praise you, Lord. Amen.
It is not easy giving thanks in the midst of your storm, but I'm learning! I used to want to wait until the entire issue was resolved before I would say Thank you Lord. But I have learned to give thanks during the baby steps. And this makes the celebration of the "passing of the storm" even greater. It becomes a "giant celebration of God's faithfulness!" Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and for your gentle teachings of thanking you at all times….no matter what it looks like!!
Amen Sweetdes! Lord, let our storms be the places where our eyes open to see your great and awesome faithfulness! Praise you, Lord. Let us rejoice no matter where we are in life. Praise you. Amen.
Point taken. Yesterday and today was so powerful. Yesterday my husband and I got amazing news regarding the cost of my car getting fixed. And when I heard the cost I almost wanted to blame my husband bc of something he did that’s causing the repairs. And I called him and he just said it’s fine, we can pay. But my heart was wrong. Meanwhile, the mechanic was working a deal for me and he only charged us for 1 thing, not the 5 major things he was doing. Gotta work on praising god in a way that I remember so when issues come I can remember that god did it. Pray for me ladies!
Amen! glory to God!
Praying for you Tiffany! We all sometimes forget or are oblivious to the fact that the Lord is blessing us– I know I've definitely been this past season. Father, forgive us! Help us see the ways in which you've blessed us, and help us to know that wherever we're at, you've given us rich blessings! Give us eyes and ears to see them, minds to understand their fullness, and hearts to embrace them with thanksgiving. I praise you for that, Lord! Praise You! Have a wonderful day, sister.
Psalm 16:2~ "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." Thank you for this reminder to slow down and really consider all that we have to be thankful for! Slow down. Remember. Consider. And then praise God with joyful and overwhelming sincerity and thankfulness. Amen.
I wrote I wrote these words in a birthday memorial in our local newspaper, for my daughter..
Most nights I pray that you will be there in my dreams….You were there last night…How wonderful it was to see you again, to hold you…it felt so real….Your smile, as beautiful as I remember it and more….The Love so strong….You held my hand and I was overjoyed…I woke up….I'm okay….I'm okay…I saw you, I held you, we loved one more time….My prayer was answered….So today I will hold my hands up in praise and thanks to God, who first gave you to me, and has you now, safe, until we meet again in eternity, to love and laugh as we always did….
These were not easy words to write….but they were TRUTH, my truth……Sister's,.I do not write them for effect, rather from the angle of even in the worst case scenario ….giving thanks to the Lord is worship and praise to God who first gave us the blessings in the first place…..and I will forever be thankful to my God for the gift that was my daughter….AMEN…..
P.s…..it has taken years to finally be in a place to be able to worship the Lord in thanksgiving, in my circumstance…..
You are my Lord…ALL the Good things I have come from you…..and boy am I thankful for that…..AMEN.
Thanks be to God for all of you my sister's in Christ…..May He, our God bless you richl today….with love, Tina.xxx
To be able to praise Him in the midst of sorrow. This is my prayer for myself, but it is still gut-wrenching to consider doing. Thank you for sharing, Tina, and for reminding me of the fact that God is a good God in every circumstance. In all things, His purpose is accomplished, even when we find ourselves at rock bottom. Praise be to God!
Stina, thank you for commenting…..I will pray that your gut wrenching feeling will cease and that it will be replaced with God's peace, God's loving arms and a voice that can eventually speak thanks to the God who blesses…..with love to you dear dear sister….x x x
Amen. Tina this is true strength which comes from the joy of the Lord. Losing a child is not an ordinary feeling but through God you are able to be at a place to give thanks where others would be or still is asking Him why. May the Lord keep you as you continue to worship Him.
Recently kimone, I was at a conference, I was stopped by a man who prayed those words over me …(.May)…."the joy of the Lord, be your strength…." Thank you for confirming those words to be……and your encouragement…..God bless you my sister…xxx
Amen! Tina how lovely is it for you to share your story with us and to remind us to worship God no matter what is our cicumstances. Thanks for being an example to all of your sisters. May God continue to fill you with his love and peace. God bless you sister.
Gema,thank you so very much for your encouragement… prayer….and blessing….God be with you too, Gema, blessings….Xxx
Tina, your beautiful, raw, wonderful words move me and filled me with tears. Dreams of passed loved ones are some of the most moving, God-given, profoundly blessing things the Lord has given us in this life… I am in awe of how deep and unsearchable our hearts & souls are, and how the Lord truly does nourish and bless them with every turn as we walk with and in Him. Thank you for sharing this, my dear sister… thank you for praising the Lord about such a deeply painful, complex experience as losing your daughter. Your praise is heard from far, far away, and it gives me joy and hope too. Bless you, my dear sister. May the God of peace keep you and hold you as you walk in Him, and may He keep fulfilling every desire of your heart, so that you may praise Him in the courts of His temple. I love you dearly. Have a beautiful day. xo.
AnnaLee, Praise God for you and your encouragement….you are so wise for your young age….truly a blessing to those of us, you walk alongside …..Thank you so much also for your prayers and blessing…..you are so special and gifted to me too…..I pray God move powerfully through you, in your words and actions….He certainly has BIG plans for you…..Glory to God…Amen….Love you right back, precious child of God…xxx
Tina you are such an inspiration!! You've been through so much and still you continue on. You are one of the SRT Sisters that the Lord had specifically told me to intercede for. Your faith is increasing as your endurance is strengthening. May our Father continue to gather you to His bosom. xoxo
Steph….. God bless you for your kind and encouraging words….Praise God for you and your intercession on my behalf….Wow I am in awe….Thank you for heeding the Lord's request….Thank you Steph…. May the Lord turn His face to shine on you…..God bless you….xxx
I love that their rejoicing could be heard far and wide. I can so relate the grumbling… May theJoy of the Lord be my strength and may my Joy be evident to all.
Amen, sister. Praying this with you today. Have a beautiful day, and may the Lord give you eyes to see it's fullness. :)
Thanks Diane for today’s words- it so easy to let the day to day small things and sometimes even the large things go buy without a crediting thanks to God. A month ago I posted in the comments about #100happydays and it was great today to look back and see all the times I have been thankful to God this month- if you haven’t heard of it why not read more about it here http://100happydays.com or click on my name to get to my blog. Let’s give thanks to God every day and start today!Nehemiah 12:43 NIV
And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.
Thank you for this reminder, Claire! I had been contemplating participating in #100happydays, but I wanted to do it with my heart in he right place, and not just to "show off." Now I feel inspired to participate as a testament to God's good works in my life!
Claire I took the #100HappyDays challenge after you last post about it. I am on day 22. I am thankful that you suggested it because on days when I felt down and depressed it has forced me to find happiness. It sometimes comes from a person, a show, or even a scripture. It is an amazing journey that I will look back over at the end to reflect. Today's devotion had challenged me even more to truly rejoice and praise God above the usual.
Claire I too joined the challenge and it is absolutely a blessing. I have to find something each day and it may not be a person but life itself. My first day I had nothing and I paused for a bit and looked around and my first post was from nature for my hapiness really lies in my existence. Thank you very much and be blessed.
Hi Claire I just joined the 100 happy days challenge, but I'm still unclear about how it works. Can you please explain to me where I'm supposed to post the picture?
Claire, I joined this after you posted it and fell off the wagon early on. : Lord, renew me and give me right spirit, so that I may see and document all of your wonderful blessings, that I may be reminded of your faithfulness! Even if I don't use 100HappyDays, I may blog or journal– whatever it may be, I pray the Lord would show me how I can document his blessings more practically and Praise him for them more abundantly. Thank you for this! Praise the Lord! Love you! Have a great day.
I definitely want to participate in #100HappyDays. I never want my gratitude to God to grow stale. Thank you ladies for your insight.
With all of the choirs, musical instruments and praising of God, I imagine such a goose bump, fast heart-beating moment filled with God's presence. Do you ever get that sort of feeling when you worship God sometimes in church with the words and music filling your soul with amazement? This must have been such an amazing time to be in with all of the joy. And I love the part in verse 43 that says, " And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away." How often do we let our joy be heard far away?
Sometimes as a mother and wife, I find myself grumbling and complaining. I am tired so I'll grumble about the kid's making too much noise or about having to clean up another spill. Sometimes, I find the silliest things to get in a fight over with my husband too. Yet, I really need to just step back and look at my life. God has given me so many blessings: a loving and faithful husband, six amazing and healthy children, a roof over my head, and so much more. Thank you for the reminder to praise God and celebrate all He has given me, even praising Him for the sticky doorknobs and toothpaste covered countertops.
CarrieLynne, I was just thinking about a woman I overheard at the playground yesterday who was talking with a friend, and the every time I caught a piece of her conversation, she was complaining, and I was convicted. How often has that been me…getting together w/ a friend to vent, to let down, to be real, never thinking about who might be overhearing my grumbling rather than my thanksgiving. Thanks for this reminder.
Morgan and CarrieLynne, thank you for your reflections/insights. Morgan, that convicts me also… do others hear my joy from far away? When they see me walking down the street or overhear me talking with a friend, do they hear of the glorious goodness and faithfulness of God? I'd like to say they do… but many times, they do not. This doesn't mean we have to be fakey– that would insult God. But even when I'm in a horrible situation or filled with sorrow, I pray the Lord would give me strength to sing of His praises, so that the whole world may see and know that He is good, even when nothing looks to be good. Worship and thanksgiving in all areas of our lives are apart of being a good witness to others! So important to remember. Praise the Lord for you two; may the Lord bless you richly and may you sing His praises so that the whole world may know. Be blessed today, sisters. :)