Although our friends in many foreign countries may not understand our text, people in America recognize the obvious truth.  Of course Thanksgiving comes before Christmas, everyone knows that.  Historically, I suppose that is just the way it came about.  Thanksgiving commemorated the harvest while Christmas celebrated the birth of Christ.

The interesting thing is those two special Holidays fall into a perfect order.  Thanksgiving is naturally a pre-curser to Christmas.  It is impossible to enter into the reality of the Christmas season without passing through a season of thanksgiving first.

There is no season of the year that brings us closer to the humanity of our Savior than Christmas.  At Easter we naturally focus more on His deity, while Christmas centers on His humanity.  Likewise, Christmas becomes a grand season of praise.  The angels initiated the praise back when Jesus was born.  The shepherds and wise men would follow suit.  Today, every believer will certainly praise God for the wonder of the season.  Praise is good, but a pre-requisite is required if our praise is to truly honor our Lord.

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

This verse shows how we are to enter into God’s presence.  We are to enter into the gates with thanksgiving before we can venture further into His courts with praise.  Coming with a thankful heart then becomes a prerequisite to bringing Him praise.

In the Old Testament people were required to come to the temple and offer sacrifices for their sins. They brought their offering to the Priests who would in turn offer their sacrifice to God for the people. Thank God we do not have to do that today because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. That is why the veil was torn. We no longer needed a high priest to offer our sacrifice or petition to God like the priests did. Today, we can enter into God’s presence on our own because of what Christ did for us.

The word enter in the Hebrew means: “to go, come, abide, or employ”.  We are to come or employ ourselves into gate of God’s presence with thanksgiving. Being thankful is the key of admittance if we seek to enter a true spirit of praise and worship.  The Apostle Paul would counsel the Philippian believers about the importance of approaching God “with thanksgiving.”

“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication 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.” Philippians 4:6-7

 In reality, thanksgiving itself is a form of worship. Thanksgiving in the original Hebrew means: “with extended hands, to revere in worship.”  Imagine every time you are thankful and expressing that to God you are actually worshipping Him!

Next, let’s take a look at the word “gates”. This refers to an outer perimeter opening into something contained on the inside. Gates in the Hebrew is translated “an opening, door, or port.”

When Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem he also rebuilt the gates and each one of the gates had a specific meaning.  Gates signify the outer edge to enter into something more personal or intimate. It allows access. You have to enter through a gate so you can be in more of an intimate setting as you walk through the courts to go into the presence of the Lord. The same is true when you “enter into His gates with thanksgiving.”  Again, Thanksgiving is the key in entering into God’s presence.

Although the gate exists to give you admittance into something precious and exciting, it can only be entered with a spirit of thanksgiving.  The court is where God is to be worshipped and praised and it can only be entered with a spirit of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving comes first and that is no accident of the calendar or quirk of history, rather it is a Scriptural truth.  The only way to effectively enter the wonderful worship and praise of the Christmas season is to stop for a moment at the gate of thanksgiving and render to your Heavenly Father the gratitude He deserves.  Perhaps that’s why Thanksgiving comes before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

 Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry over forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.