But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23 NLT
During the time of King Ahasuerus, there was a law that no one was to approach the gates of the king clothed in sackcloth, Esther 4:2. Those who approached the King’s courts were to dress in such a way to reflect the King’s Majesty. Sackcloth was typically used to bemoan one’s self, mourn, and also to show repentance for a transgression. It could also signify a dejected state and self-loathing and murmuring, which is the emphasis of this meditation. When Esther and her people were in great distress and needed help from the King, she needed to put her Royal garment to approach the King to plead for her people.
The idea of a sacrifice means there is a cost involved, a laying down of life of some sort. It involves giving up something that is precious. A sacrifice of praise indicates that the offering of this praise is at a cost. Hence God says it brings Him honor when one chooses to sacrifice giving of thanks. During difficult situations, it is common practice to feel pity for one’s self and murmur. This was a regular practice by the Children of Israel. The Lord had split the red sea to set them free from slavery, led them through the wilderness, provided food and comfort from the harsh conditions of the wilderness, helped them (ex-slaves) fight and win several battles. However, in Numbers 14, when they reached the land God promised them, the Land for which He had destroyed Egypt and several enemies prior, showing His splendor and majesty before other nations, when they had reached their promised land, at the sight of men too great for them, they began to do what a lot of people do in such situations: murmur, and cry and completely dishonor God who was with them. This made God, who previously promised to take them into the promised Land, change His mind and promise to kill all of them except Joshua and Caleb who would not murmur.
Thanksgiving, especially in situations where it seems difficult to do pleases God because it displays faith. This thanksgiving does not mean we do not lay our petitions before God. The courts of the King are where decisions and supplications are made. Esther understanding the importance of this prepared herself and dressed in royal apparel and not mourning, which her condition would have suggested and she was heard. David, despite his years of running from his enemies and threats of death, though he had been promised the throne by God, said “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise”. He did not do this because he was denying the issues he was having or because he forgot about his troubles. He instead realized the power of the King He stood before and chose to magnify that power above his problems.
We have been given a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness, Isaiah 61:3, and so Paul admonishes us that as we approach the courts of our King to make supplications, we must come clothed in this garment, Phillipians 4:6. Paul practiced this in prison with Silas in Acts 16:25-29, not because he was free or even knew the details of how he would be freed from prison, but because He knew the Lord whom He served. The result was a miraculous escape from prison and the salvation of their prison warden. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 had their own version of this sacrifice of praise where they chose to speak highly of God even in the face of death. The fact that it is contrary to human logic to praise God and choose to magnify Him for His righteous acts in difficult situations is what makes it all the more a sacrifice and all the more pleasing to God.
Final thoughts: Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that giving of thanks in all situations (good, bad, and ugly) is God’s will for us. This is the fruit of our lips that we are to offer continually before God, Hebrews 13:15. Thanksgiving and praise, while they may not always start out with singing and dancing, has a way of shifting our focus from the problem in front of us and stirring up the Joy of the Holy Spirit within us. It is with this Joy we have a continuous feast, Proverbs 15:15, and draw from the Wells of our salvation and deliverance as Isaiah 12:3 says. This Joy stirred up is our strength and what encourages a man who is beaten to the ground to say “rejoice not over me my enemy, though I fall, I will rise and even if I sit in darkness, the Lord is my Light”, Micah 7:8. This honors God and this is the path that when we keep to it, reveals the salvation of God to us, even in impossible situations.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you because you always hear me. I thank you because my walls and my entire life are continually before you. I thank you because not a hair on my head falls without Your notice. Help me to always magnify You in My heart regardless of how difficult life can get. Teach Me to zone out of my problems and meditate on Your righteous acts. I know that all that put their trust in You are never put to shame and so regardless of whatever I face, I will never be put to shame.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 34
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