November 23rd, 2025
by Lars Dahl
by Lars Dahl
There's a peculiar truth about joy that most of us get backwards. We treat it like a destination, something we'll finally experience when circumstances align perfectly. When the job comes through. When the relationship heals. When the bank account stabilizes. When life finally settles down.
But what if joy doesn't work that way at all? What if joy isn't the reward for getting everything right, but rather the result of doing one simple thing: being thankful?
The Doorway We've Been Missing
Psalm 100:4 paints a vivid picture: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
Notice the sequence. Thanksgiving comes first. It's not the dessert after a satisfying spiritual meal—it's the doorway itself. We don't enter God's presence with joy already perfected and polished. We enter with thanksgiving, and joy is what we discover on the other side.
This changes everything.
Most of us wait to feel joyful before we express gratitude. We think our hearts need to be in the right place first. But God flips the script entirely. Thankfulness isn't the response to joy; it's the pathway to it. Gratitude opens the door, and joy is the atmosphere we step into.
The Slow Leak of Joy
Here's something worth noticing: joy rarely disappears with a dramatic exit. It doesn't usually vanish in one catastrophic moment. Instead, it leaks. Quietly. Subtly. Almost imperceptibly.
No one wakes up and declares, "Today, I'm going to lose my joy!" It erodes slowly, through disappointment, through exhaustion, through the relentless grind of unmet expectations.
Before we realize it, we're running on empty, spiritually drained, going through the motions.
But here's the good news: our joy isn't built on what's around us. It's built on who is within us.
The enemy knows he can't steal your salvation, so he'll gladly settle for stealing your joy. Because a joyless Christian is a weary Christian. A dimming light. Someone who survives rather than thrives.
Yet Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that "the joy of the Lord is your strength." Not your accessory. Not your bonus blessing. Your strength. The fuel that keeps you going when everything else fails.
The Temple Gates: An Ancient Invitation
Psalm 100 was traditionally sung as worshipers approached the temple in Jerusalem. Picture it: pilgrims making their way through dusty roads, finally catching sight of the temple gates. As they drew near, they would begin singing this psalm—a processional hymn of thanksgiving.
The structure is brilliant. The outer gates represented the first point of access to God's presence. The courts were the inner areas where worship, sacrifice, and fellowship occurred. The psalm guides worshipers from the outside in, and at every step, there's a command:
Enter with thanksgiving.
Come with praise.
Be thankful.
Bless His name.
These aren't suggestions. They're imperatives. Intentional acts of worship that don't depend on how we feel but on who God is.
What Does It Mean to Bless God?
Here's a question worth pondering: How do you bless the One who already owns everything? You can't improve God. You can't add anything He's missing. So what does it mean when Scripture tells us to "bless His name"?
Blessing God means speaking well of Him. It means declaring His goodness, rehearsing His faithfulness, lifting His name above everything else. Your heart and mouth become a spotlight pointed directly at God.
Blessing God means remembering what He has done. Psalm 103 urges us not to forget His benefits—salvation, mercy, provision, protection. A forgetful heart silences praise. A remembering heart unleashes it.
Blessing God means loving obedience. Jesus connected love and obedience like two sides of the same coin: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Your obedience doesn't make God better, but it honors Him. It says, "Lord, You're worthy of my life, my choices, my direction."
Blessing God means offering yourself back to Him. Romans 12:1 calls it presenting your body as a living sacrifice. Your time, your energy, your gifts, your words—placed back into His hands. That's worship in motion.
Blessing God means trusting Him in trouble. When life grows cold and circumstances turn harsh, choosing to lift your voice in trust blesses Him in a profound way. Habakkuk declared, "Though the fig tree may not blossom... yet I will rejoice in the Lord" (Habakkuk 3:17-18). There's no sweeter sound in heaven than a child of God saying, "Lord, I trust You even here."
The Unshakeable Foundation
Why can we be thankful even when life is hard? Psalm 100:5 gives us three rock-solid reasons:
The Lord is good. Not just kind occasionally, but fundamentally, essentially good. Goodness isn't something God has; it's something God is.
His mercy is everlasting. The Hebrew word here is hesed, covenant love, steadfast love, loyal love. Unlike human affection that wears thin, God's love has no expiration date.
His truth endures to all generations. God's character doesn't shift with culture, time, or emotion. From the first generation to the last, He remains absolutely trustworthy.
These aren't motivational slogans. They're the unchanging attributes of God that anchor our worship when everything else is shaking.
Joy in the Harvest
Here's the beautiful conclusion: joy isn't meant to stay bottled up inside us. It's meant to go with us, into our homes, our workplaces, our communities. Jesus said the fields are ready for harvest. A thankful heart becomes a joyful heart, and a joyful heart becomes a willing worker in God's harvest.
Joy is not just what God gives you. It's what God uses in you.
Crossing the Threshold
So what "gates" are you entering this week? The door to your workplace on Monday morning? A difficult conversation with a family member? A season of prayer you've been avoiding? A challenge that feels overwhelming?
Enter them with thanksgiving. Not because everything is perfect, but because God is good. Not because you feel like it, but because His mercy is everlasting. Not because the path is clear, but because His truth endures.
Thanksgiving is like stepping into a warm cabin after being out in the cold. The atmosphere changes the moment you cross the threshold.
Don't wait for the perfect mood to be thankful. Don't wait for joy to arrive before you start praising. Step through the gates with gratitude, and watch what happens on the other side.
Because joy isn't something we chase down or manufacture. It's something we walk into, one thankful step at a time.
But what if joy doesn't work that way at all? What if joy isn't the reward for getting everything right, but rather the result of doing one simple thing: being thankful?
The Doorway We've Been Missing
Psalm 100:4 paints a vivid picture: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
Notice the sequence. Thanksgiving comes first. It's not the dessert after a satisfying spiritual meal—it's the doorway itself. We don't enter God's presence with joy already perfected and polished. We enter with thanksgiving, and joy is what we discover on the other side.
This changes everything.
Most of us wait to feel joyful before we express gratitude. We think our hearts need to be in the right place first. But God flips the script entirely. Thankfulness isn't the response to joy; it's the pathway to it. Gratitude opens the door, and joy is the atmosphere we step into.
The Slow Leak of Joy
Here's something worth noticing: joy rarely disappears with a dramatic exit. It doesn't usually vanish in one catastrophic moment. Instead, it leaks. Quietly. Subtly. Almost imperceptibly.
No one wakes up and declares, "Today, I'm going to lose my joy!" It erodes slowly, through disappointment, through exhaustion, through the relentless grind of unmet expectations.
Before we realize it, we're running on empty, spiritually drained, going through the motions.
But here's the good news: our joy isn't built on what's around us. It's built on who is within us.
The enemy knows he can't steal your salvation, so he'll gladly settle for stealing your joy. Because a joyless Christian is a weary Christian. A dimming light. Someone who survives rather than thrives.
Yet Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that "the joy of the Lord is your strength." Not your accessory. Not your bonus blessing. Your strength. The fuel that keeps you going when everything else fails.
The Temple Gates: An Ancient Invitation
Psalm 100 was traditionally sung as worshipers approached the temple in Jerusalem. Picture it: pilgrims making their way through dusty roads, finally catching sight of the temple gates. As they drew near, they would begin singing this psalm—a processional hymn of thanksgiving.
The structure is brilliant. The outer gates represented the first point of access to God's presence. The courts were the inner areas where worship, sacrifice, and fellowship occurred. The psalm guides worshipers from the outside in, and at every step, there's a command:
Enter with thanksgiving.
Come with praise.
Be thankful.
Bless His name.
These aren't suggestions. They're imperatives. Intentional acts of worship that don't depend on how we feel but on who God is.
What Does It Mean to Bless God?
Here's a question worth pondering: How do you bless the One who already owns everything? You can't improve God. You can't add anything He's missing. So what does it mean when Scripture tells us to "bless His name"?
Blessing God means speaking well of Him. It means declaring His goodness, rehearsing His faithfulness, lifting His name above everything else. Your heart and mouth become a spotlight pointed directly at God.
Blessing God means remembering what He has done. Psalm 103 urges us not to forget His benefits—salvation, mercy, provision, protection. A forgetful heart silences praise. A remembering heart unleashes it.
Blessing God means loving obedience. Jesus connected love and obedience like two sides of the same coin: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Your obedience doesn't make God better, but it honors Him. It says, "Lord, You're worthy of my life, my choices, my direction."
Blessing God means offering yourself back to Him. Romans 12:1 calls it presenting your body as a living sacrifice. Your time, your energy, your gifts, your words—placed back into His hands. That's worship in motion.
Blessing God means trusting Him in trouble. When life grows cold and circumstances turn harsh, choosing to lift your voice in trust blesses Him in a profound way. Habakkuk declared, "Though the fig tree may not blossom... yet I will rejoice in the Lord" (Habakkuk 3:17-18). There's no sweeter sound in heaven than a child of God saying, "Lord, I trust You even here."
The Unshakeable Foundation
Why can we be thankful even when life is hard? Psalm 100:5 gives us three rock-solid reasons:
The Lord is good. Not just kind occasionally, but fundamentally, essentially good. Goodness isn't something God has; it's something God is.
His mercy is everlasting. The Hebrew word here is hesed, covenant love, steadfast love, loyal love. Unlike human affection that wears thin, God's love has no expiration date.
His truth endures to all generations. God's character doesn't shift with culture, time, or emotion. From the first generation to the last, He remains absolutely trustworthy.
These aren't motivational slogans. They're the unchanging attributes of God that anchor our worship when everything else is shaking.
Joy in the Harvest
Here's the beautiful conclusion: joy isn't meant to stay bottled up inside us. It's meant to go with us, into our homes, our workplaces, our communities. Jesus said the fields are ready for harvest. A thankful heart becomes a joyful heart, and a joyful heart becomes a willing worker in God's harvest.
Joy is not just what God gives you. It's what God uses in you.
Crossing the Threshold
So what "gates" are you entering this week? The door to your workplace on Monday morning? A difficult conversation with a family member? A season of prayer you've been avoiding? A challenge that feels overwhelming?
Enter them with thanksgiving. Not because everything is perfect, but because God is good. Not because you feel like it, but because His mercy is everlasting. Not because the path is clear, but because His truth endures.
Thanksgiving is like stepping into a warm cabin after being out in the cold. The atmosphere changes the moment you cross the threshold.
Don't wait for the perfect mood to be thankful. Don't wait for joy to arrive before you start praising. Step through the gates with gratitude, and watch what happens on the other side.
Because joy isn't something we chase down or manufacture. It's something we walk into, one thankful step at a time.
Lars Dahl
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