Every door that the Lord opens to us is received by faith. An open door represents free access, a portal that opens opportunities, and directs us from one place to another. Without the open door, access is denied, and the opportunities are closed. Lawful entrance requires an open door; those who attempt to enter any other way are considered to be thieves and robbers. Jesus said, “I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9, KJV). Galatians 5:22-23 states, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” While verse 24 tells us that, “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith,” verse 25 declares that after, “Faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (the law). Going further, Galatians 5:26 clarifies verse 25, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Interestingly, verse 28 tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is nether bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Before Christ came, Gentiles were shut off from the promises of God (see Ephesians 2:1-22); however, in Acts 14:27 we find that God, “Opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” Our starting point to the open doors begins with The Door, Who is accessed by faith.
Obviously, the key to walking by the faith of Jesus is belief on our part, but how does this tie in with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is not only a sign of gratitude on our part; it is an act of worship and a sign of trust. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” In other words, don’t worry about it, give it to God, thank Him for it, and His peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Should the temptation arise to become fearful and agitated by circumstances, start praising God with thanksgiving. Let it be clear: belief is an act of our will, and how we deal with circumstances is up to us. Some people believe the responsible thing to do is worry when it comes to caring about people and things they oversee. Worry is still a form of fear. Our responsibility is to respond with faith, trusting in God and allowing His peace to rule our hearts and minds. Face it, if we are at peace, we are more readily available to handle any situation than if we are frozen with fear, or weighed down with worry. In truth, faith says, “God is control, He will handle it, and He may choose to handle it through me. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!” Being vigilant is one thing; being fearful is quite another. The former has to do with mindfulness with what God has place in our charge as good stewards, while walking in faith. The latter is being afraid of loss and failure, which is rooted in unbelief.
Thanksgiving keeps the doors open that the Lord opens to us. We must remember that with every open door there is a process, and our faith will be tested (see “The Process Of Personal Prophecy” for more detail). If the Lord gives us a Word, we receive that Word with thanksgiving. That is part of agreeing with Him. Thanksgiving declares the sovereignty of God and His ability to fulfill all that He has declared. In the Hebrew, “thanksgiving” also means confession as well as offering up a sacrifice of praise. To confess means to agree with, and when we offer up thanksgiving, we are openly declaring a good confession before God. Thanksgiving is an act of worship. Psalm 95:2 says, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.” Psalm 100:4-5 also says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. For the Lord is good; and His mercy endureth to all generations.” When we offer up thanksgiving, we are declaring that He is a good God, even under adverse circumstances. It declares that He is faithful, even when everything points to opposite direction. “Whoso offereth praise (thanksgiving) glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23, KJV). When we live the life of thanksgiving and walk in ways that are pleasing to Him, God is free to deliver us. He is free to bless us.
An opposite approach to thanksgiving is murmuring and complaining. These are signs of unbelief and lack of trust. This is something that is very displeasing to the Lord. If one were to be tempted to murmur and complain, it would be a good time to examine whether one is edging on unbelief. As already stated before, believing is a decision we all must make. Repentance from unbelief means that one turns away from it, and goes the opposite direction – belief. People often decide ahead of time what they will choose to do under certain circumstances. For example, if all is going well, they will choose to believe God; conversely, if things go the polar opposite they will not. The proper approach is to make the decision to believe Him in all circumstances.
Hebrews 3:8-12 Harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore (why) was I grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed brethren, let there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Hebrews is using an example of the children of Israel who were in the wilderness and did not enter into the promise land. In verse 14 we are encouraged to, “Hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” The key is, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts . . .” One of the ways we keep from hardening our hearts is offering up thanksgiving. Verses 18-19 says, “And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believe not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
1Corinthians 10:9-11 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are to come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. When the children of Israel were in unbelief, they murmured. Granted, these are extreme examples of unbelief, but it gives us a clue as why a promise may take longer to fulfill, or in some cases not at all. Unbelief is a hindrance to the promise if we allow it to be. Worse still, it will keep us from entering into the promise land altogether if we allow it to run our life. We combat the darkness of unbelief by offering up the sacrifice of praise (thanksgiving), which in turn propels us into belief.
On last thought to keep in mind, God is faithful Who promised! As the Lord said in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it (KJV).
www.perfectfaith.org
