thanksgiving is a special time for me and my family. It connects us in a spiritual way and speaks to us of a deeper reality than the Pilgrims, turkey or cherry pie can even begin to capture.
I suspect if we only looked at Thanksgiving as a feast of mega proportion and fuel for our Black Friday Buying Bing, then life will seem like a race of accumulation, totally without meaning, purpose or depth. That may work for you as long as your money and health hold out, but take them away and Black Friday really becomes "deathly black" indeed.
Robert Lewis Stevenson understood best our need for a time of gratitude and thanksgiving when he said "The person who has stopped being thankful has fallen asleep in life." On this Thanksgiving Holiday, pity the atheist who has a deep need to be grateful, but no one to be grateful to.
I wonder this year if how we approach Thanksgiving isn't a lot like how we approach Heaven. How many, I wonder, intentionally stopped and took time to be grateful this holiday , count their treasures in terms of friends, family and faith, or bow in humility for the life they have the future before them? What if you were too busy, too much to get ready for, to many task left to do or perhaps you just didn't see the need. You would be the poorer and your dinner would be about food and not much else.
Now consider Heaven, how many I wonder, will stop in the midst of their busy lives to receive Heaven? How many take Heaven as a given and not a gift? What if you were too busy, too much to accomplish, to many task left to do or perhaps you just didn't see the need. How many will miss Heaven completely because they were too busy to receive it, even in death? Remember the story of the 10 lepers? (read about it here)
The greatest disease of the human heart – ingratitude. Ingratitude says "I’m entitled to it, I deserve it, I can't live without it." Ingratitude steals the wonder from every miracle, the passion from every relationship, and the faith from every obstacle. There is but one cure I know of - a Thankful Heart.
The Spirit of Heaven offers us these priceless gifts for our lives that will shape and mold our character and spirit through the year.
(1) Thanksgiving invites us to Celebrate the Past - so many grieve what was lost without ever seeing what was gained. Whether it was the loss of a loved one or the passing of a dream, we grieve the past and all what might have been. Thanksgiving allows us to look upon the past through new eyes and see that we have been blessed in the journey.
"He has lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire…" Psalm 40:1
I may not be where I want to be, but thank God, I'm not where I used to be!
(2) Thanksgiving offers us Courage for the Present - sure there will be moments of doubt, rainy days, and obstacles to overcome. Bring them on, I say, for life is made of adventure and challenges. We were not made to be spiritual couch potatoes, but navigators of the life's deeper meanings. We cannot fathom the depths of our spirit without venturing into deeper waters and that may mean rough seas and being seasick from time to time. Thanksgiving allows us to celebrate the good, bad and ugly as part of our life story. We can and we will face today with hope, optimism and FAITH.
"None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5
(3) Thanksgiving give us Confidence in Tomorrow - We live in uncertain times. We always have and I suspect we always will. To share in a time of thanksgiving is a reminder that God is with us. With God to guide and comfort us we risk, we share, we live and we love without fear but with confidence.
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. (Psalm 40:5)
"If we expect great things from God, We will attempt great things for God."
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Thanksgiving Scriptures
1 Thessalonians 5.18 says, “Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (CEB).
I’m glad it says “in every situation” rather than “for every situation.” While we may not like every situation we experience, the discipline is to be thankful anyway, even if only for the promise of God’s presence!
The Psalms talk a lot about giving thanks …
- “Let’s come before him with thanks!” (Psalm 95.2)
- “Enter his gates with thanks.” (Psalm 100.4)
- “Give thanks to the LORD because he is good.” (Psalm 106.1, and others)
- “Be rooted and built up in him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught.” (Colossians 2.7)
- “Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3.17)
- “Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4.2)
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