Give Thanks to Yahweh
Thanks
(#188 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.net
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name. (Psalm 100:4)
O Yahweh, let my words of thanksgiving settle in Your ears like the dew. Let my praise form like manna on the earth. May my worship be as sweet as honey cakes. I know that it is Your joy that my words of thanksgiving actually become provision for me, blessings and the bread of life.
You knew me before You formed me in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). I dreamed of You then. I felt Your love before I was born. Then, as an innocent child, my dreams remained from You, nothing clouding my intention. They were good, pure, and hopeful. They were thoughts of what good I could do for others.
Thank You Father; the fire of affliction has returned me to this place. Thank You for Your love which has forged the hot iron of my will to conform to Yours. Thank You that You did not leave me to myself. Thank You for Your pruning which exposed my heart, and for Your power that comes with Your revelation. Thank You for skimming the dross so that what is pure in me remains. Thank You for not letting me stay the same.
I became a child again and You removed my abilities in this season. And You did it to reconstruct my temple. Thank You that during this rebirth You sustained only those things that I truly love most, the things of You. My spirit thanks You. Wonderful are Your ways; magnanimous are Your deeds.
Note to the reader: No matter what you are going through right now, even if it seems like no one cares, we care. We want to tell you to hold on, not with gritting teeth, but with a mind that says “He won’t lie to me. He won’t let my life become worthless. My day is coming; I will rise again, and I will be better than ever.” We know what it feels like to wonder if life is worth it, and we have come to a new place, a Promised Land. And we want to tell you that all your pain will soon be something glorious. You will look back at it and you will truly understand that without it, you could have never known what pure joy is. You will realize that grief and the feeling of despair are actually holy emotions used to allow you to experience how joyful joy is. Hold on: we are with you.
I Am is with you.