As I was getting ready for work one morning, I was thinking about how I felt congested, blocked and separated. God had been feeling so far away. I knew He was with me but I couldn’t feel His presence. A friend had recommended a Julie True worship CD to me. So, I went online and purchased it.
As I began listening to the melody and words and the song “Enter In” came on. Those words began to penetrate my heart and soon this dropped in my heart ‘enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. You must enter in My daughter.
Wow, I know that I know this but how easy we forget, get busy or even lazy and just not do this. So, I just started saying thank you for Your love, thank you for Your grace, thank you for Your mercy. I just kept going. Soon my hands were raised, my heart poured out to Him in worship and praise. There I was completely wrapped in the presence of God. Hello, Father!
It is so easy to enter His gates but out of the heart the mouth speaks. Yes, sometimes our hearts are filled with the issues of life so we don’t feel like praising Him or giving thanks. I certainly didn’t feel like it. However, we are not to be led by how we feel so we praise Him anyway.
When I first started, it felt so dry and unnatural and then once I broke through the junk in my heart it just flowed. What a glorious moment in His presence this was. My sisters, so much in our lives can change by entering in. By praising Him and simply thanking Him for the gifts in our lives. This experience isn’t for the super spiritual; it is for all of God’s children.
Psalm 100: 4-5 The Passion Translation (TPT)
“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!”
When He feels far away just praise Him. Your Father is waiting for you to enter in. He says you can pass through his open gate at any time and all you have to do is praise. You can enter right into His presence by thanking Him. I encourage you to make a choice and set aside 10 minutes today and just sit and thank Him. Silence everything else and enter in and feel His presence and let Him take your heart and purify it.
During the thanksgiving season, we are constantly reminded to give thanks. But we can’t only give thanks once a year. We must live a life of thanksgiving in spite of situations and circumstances. God provided this beautiful Kingdom for us but it is up to us to enter in. He has shown us the way. Will we choose to enter in? Or will we let life’s circumstances congest our hearts and keep us back from experiencing the presence of God fully in our lives.
At His Feet!
Sheila Picard
