You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise.
Come right into his presence with thanksgiving.
Come bring your thank offering to him
and affectionately bless his beautiful name! (Psalm 100:4 TPT)

I recently saw a plaque in the home decor section of a store with the phrase “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” I took a picture with my phone so I could remember the exact wording because it struck me as identifying a deep need in our present culture, while at the same time issuing a subtle yet powerful call to action.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where what we have is rarely enough. We want more—more money, more toys, more stuff, more recognition, and so on and so on! We are a people who often resist the word enough when it comes to our possessions. We want “more” because we think that getting “more” will bring us happiness and contentment. The truth is, what we truly desire from life will not come from what we have. Ultimately, happiness and contentment come from how we view what we have.

Your challenge for today will be to “count your blessings.” In the lyrics of the hymn “Count Your Blessings” are two phrases that are applicable to this exercise:

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.*

Through counting our blessings, we begin to see that God is generous with his people and that he delights in giving to us just what we need.

In my work in the ministry of stewardship and generosity, I have yet to meet an unhappy grateful person. There just seems to be a deep peace and abiding joy that only comes from a heart of gratitude. There is also a sense of contentment that accompanies a spirit of thanksgiving.

Gratitude indeed turns what we have into enough, but the best thing about gratitude and thanksgiving is described in Psalm 100:4: “You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise. Come right into his presence with thanksgiving” (TPT).

Gratitude and thanksgiving can lead us right into the presence of God, and God becomes our “enough”!

~Joel Mikel

Reflection

What is your gut reaction to the question, “Do I have enough?” Does that reaction change when you count your blessings?

Challenge

In your journal, create a “table of blessings and thanksgiving” by listing every blessing in your life: your relational blessings, your material blessings, and your spiritual blessings. As you list them, write beside each one the words “Thank you, God!”

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.