A Pastoral Cordial: Gratitude is the Gateway to Worship

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“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” [Psalm 100:4]

Gratitude is the gateway to worship. Worship is not a feeling, or an emotion. It isn’t excitement or enthusiasm.

Worship is a raising of our affections for God to God in response to God’s goodness, mercy, and truth [Psalm 100:5]. 

Worship is not anything less than gratitude for all that God is for us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • It is the goodness of God that led us to repentance [Romans 2:4]
  • It is the mercy of God that raised us to spiritual life [Ephesians 2:4-7]
  • It is the truth of God that is the gospel of our salvation [Ephesians 1:13]

When our hearts are oriented to God’s goodness, mercy, and truth, this same goodness, mercy, and truth manifests itself in our speech and conduct as evidence of the fruit of the spirit:

  • “Walk (conduct yourself) as children of light: for the fruit of the spirt is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth” [Ephesians 5:8b-9].

Gratitude is not the default posture of our hearts; ingratitude is (Romans 1:21). Our sinful pride and self-reliance, which is the root of ingratitude, can only be overcome by the gracious work of the indwelling Holy Spirit as we submit his word and will.

And as the Holy Spirit creates gratitude for God to God in our hearts, our gratitude expresses itself in language. The words we speak reflect whether or not we are truly thankful to God and walking (conducting ourselves) in love for him (Ephesians 5). The speech of those who are not walking in love is characterized by “filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking” [Ephesians 5:4], contrasted with the speech of those who speak from a heart of gratitude: “but rather giving of thanks” [Ephesians 5:4]. 

Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encouraged them to “speak the truth in love” [4:15] and “putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” [4:25]. The way we talk – to God, to ourselves, and to one another – affirms or denies a heart of gratitude.

And it’s not just our manner of speech that conveys this gratitude; it is also the songs we sing: “Speaking to yourselves (each other) in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” [Ephesians 5:19-20].

When King David returned the ark of the covenant to its rightful place in Jerusalem, he wrote a Psalm of Thanksgiving which serves as a template for gratitude as the gateway to worship, a psalm which begins with the words: “Give thanks unto the LORD…”   You can read this psalm in 1 Chronicles 16:7-36. It is filled with bullet points of praise to God for his goodness, mercy, and truth:

  • Goodness: provision, protection (1 Chronicles 16:17-22)
  • Mercy: salvation, return, deliverance (1 Chronicles 16:34-36)
  • Truth: his judgments, his covenant, his oath, his law, the word he commanded (1 Chronicles 16:14-17)

When our hearts are overwhelmed with gratefulness for God’s goodness, mercy, and truth we cannot do anything less than worship, because gratitude is the gateway to worship:

  • “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wonderous works; glory in his holy name, let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord” (1 Chronicles 16:9-10)
  • “Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation” (1 Chronicles 16:23)

Gratitude is the gateway to worship as a response to who God is, not only for the things he has done: glory is DUE to his name – we owe it to him – because he is great, and a great God above all gods. Glory and honor are in his presence. 

Whether God ever showered us with his mercy, goodness, and truth, he is STILL worthy of our grateful praise (carefully read 1 Chronicles 16:25-27).

If gratitude is the gateway to worship, ingratitude is evidence of a heart that is darkened to the goodness, mercy, and truth of God, and therefore does not glorify God as God (“as God” emphasizes what David said earlier: the Lord is a great God above all gods and deserves our worship AS GOD – because he IS God – and not merely for the good things he does for us):

  • “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful” (Romans 1:21).

Gratitude is the gateway to worship. The reason our worship is deficient is because we have not oriented our hearts by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit in thankfulness for God to God.

Thanksgiving IS worship and worship is thanksgiving (Revelation 7:9-12).

“By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” [Hebrews 13:15].

Until He comes, or calls us home, I remain

Cordially yours,

Paul Edwards