Brandon Lake - Gratitude DevotionalSample

Day Four: Embracing a Posture of Praise

Scriptures: Psalm 100:4-5; Nehemiah 8-9

Every day, we are given the opportunity to realign our hearts with God’s faithfulness. Gratitude is a choice, a perspective, and a daily heart posture. We can speak to our soul to lift up a song. We can throw up our hands. We can get up and praise the Lord. These are each physical reflections of a heart singing “hallelujah.” They are mirror images of a posture that is bent toward praising our God.

The writer of Psalm 100 penned one of the most well-known passages on gratitude: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). Sometimes it’s easy to praise God, but at times, our human nature causes us to doubt His goodness. The Israelites were the epitome of this push and pull perspective. God performed miracle after miracle before their eyes, and yet, they still found themselves doubting His provision, protection, and promise. Isn’t that so relatable in our own lives? But when Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, the Israelites saw breakthrough after decades of struggling in exile, and they celebrated with more joy than they had possessed in years. Nehemiah encouraged them, “Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting” (Nehemiah 9:5). His timing may look different than we would expect, but His goodness truly knows no end.

When the going gets tough, it’s crucial to have a strong spiritual foundation. This is where our heart posture comes into play. As we get up daily and unclench our fists, lift our praises, and sing hallelujah, our heart comes into closer and closer connection with God—and we eventually begin to feel the impact of our gratitude.

Reflect:

1. Reflect on a time that God has proven to be faithful in your life, even when you doubted His goodness.

2. What would a posture of praise look like in your day-to-day world?