As you read the title of this article, no doubt the Thanksgiving holiday flashed into your consciousness. Your deduction was of course correct, since Thanksgiving Day will soon be upon us.
The practice of giving thanks to God is advocated over and over again in the pages of the Bible. For instance, Psalm 105:1 & 2 says, “O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works” (KJV). These verses encourage us to call to mind God’s goodness and graciousness, as we “…make known his deeds,” and “talk…of all his wondrous works.” That’s what Thanksgiving is all about. In short, this holiday is set aside as a time to acknowledge our dependence upon the benevolent kindness and provision of God.
However, let’s be careful not to relegate thankfulness to only one month a year, for Ephesians 5:20 says that we should be, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse would seem to imply that being grateful is as much an attitude of heart as it is an action.
I admit that“…giving thanks always…” isn’t always easy. Life can present us with some situations that might seem to defy an attitude of gratitude. Perhaps you’ve heard the following story:
Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it.
Terrified, the one shouted to the other, “Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!”
John answered, “I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.”
“But you must!” implored his companion. “The bull is catching up to us.”
“All right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’” 1
All humor aside; learning to be thankful in everything, as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, is both necessary and doable. God would never require something of His children that wasn’t possible by relying on Him. The following true story illustrates my point:
In a sermon at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, Gary Wilburn said: “In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years’ War, a German pastor, Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, [an] average of fifteen a day. His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster.
In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this table grace for his children: ‘Now thank we all our God /With heart and hands and voices; /Who wondrous things had done, /In whom His world rejoices. /Who, from our mother’s arms, /Hath led us on our way /With countless gifts of love /And still is ours today.’” 2
Here was a man who knew thanksgiving comes from love of God, not from outward circumstances.
May God make us truly thankful for His lovingkindness, mercy, and grace, as we celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday. We have so much to be thankful for.
1Acquired from www.sermonillustrations.com.
2Illustration submitted by Don Maddox at www.sermonillustrations.com.
