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

When I was starting out in ministry, a wise and seasoned minister gave me a piece of advice. He said, “Son, never make the mistake of asking people at church how they are feeling because they just might tell you!” While he was making a joke, there is a lot of truth in what he said to me. I have often wished that I had heeded his advice. I guess it is just part of human nature to want to tell someone just how bad things are at the moment. We all have people in our lives who when we see them coming, we wish the earth would swallow us up whole. You know that they will moan and groan about how miserable life is treating them. It seems as if they never have anything good to report about anything. Listening to them drains you and frustrates you, for they never let you speak. They aren’t interested in looking for an answer to their problem as they never take your advice even though they asked you over and over again to tell them what they should do to address their problem.

If we are honest at all, we will have to admit that we treat God much the same way. It is amazing how much of our prayer time is spent complaining about what’s wrong and how God needs to fix it. We remind Him often that we want things fixed right now. We often fail to acknowledge all the wonderful things God has done for us. We are blinded by our lack of faith in Him and our tunneled focus on ourselves. We are so busy complaining, that we fail to see His faithfulness to us.

Honestly, how thankful have you been lately? Do you spend more time complaining to God than you do praising Him for the things He has already done for you? When God sees you coming, does He brace Himself for another tongue lashing from you? Let me encourage you to take an honest look around your life and take notice of just how good and faithful God has been to you. You will also see how consistent His faithfulness has been to you in every season of your life. Make your time with Him today a lasting time of loving fellowship and truly honor Him with your praise for all that He has done and will yet do in your life.

Today is a great day … celebrate the One who made it with you in mind!