This week, many across our beloved country will be busily preparing a Thanksgiving feast for their family and/or friends this Thursday. It’s an exciting time of traditional recipes, or for the more daring, new recipes that we hope will turn out picture-perfect and become a new favorite. In addition to all of the food we will overindulge in, there are football games to enjoy – “Please, God, if you’ll just let my team win, I’ll thank you from the bottom of my heart!” – as we head into ‘Black Friday,’ the day that usually begins in the wee hours of the morning for many die-hard shoppers so that not one door buster sale is missed.
Yet Thanksgiving is so much more than overeating, watching too many football games or spending more money than we can repay before Christmas the following year. In our state of bountifulness, it is easy to think that everyone else is also experiencing the same level of plenty. The truth is that many of the holidays on our calendar can be painful to people who are alone, feel forgotten, or who do not have the opportunity to feast and spend as others do. For all of us, regardless of where we fall on the ‘plenti-meter,’ Thanksgiving is an attitude that begins in the heart.
Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your
wonderful deeds.”
What wonderful deeds has the Lord done for you? Or do you have a difficult time recognizing any of them because you haven’t received what you think you should have by this stage in your life? If you are having a hard time seeing them, then start simply and thank God for Who He is.
Thank Him because He gave us life.
Revelations 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their
being.”
Thank Him for His love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
Thank Him for the wisdom …
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
… and for the strength He offers to us.
Psalm 18:32 “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”
Thank Him for His constancy.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
And, best of all, thank Him for the gift of eternal life through His Son.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Start a new tradition this Thanksgiving and take time to thank God for all of the good He has given to us, for “apart from you [God], I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2) You will discover that the more you give thanks to Him, the more you will find to thank Him for. He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
Yet Thanksgiving is so much more than overeating, watching too many football games or spending more money than we can repay before Christmas the following year. In our state of bountifulness, it is easy to think that everyone else is also experiencing the same level of plenty. The truth is that many of the holidays on our calendar can be painful to people who are alone, feel forgotten, or who do not have the opportunity to feast and spend as others do. For all of us, regardless of where we fall on the ‘plenti-meter,’ Thanksgiving is an attitude that begins in the heart.
Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your
wonderful deeds.”
What wonderful deeds has the Lord done for you? Or do you have a difficult time recognizing any of them because you haven’t received what you think you should have by this stage in your life? If you are having a hard time seeing them, then start simply and thank God for Who He is.
Thank Him because He gave us life.
Revelations 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their
being.”
Thank Him for His love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
Thank Him for the wisdom …
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
… and for the strength He offers to us.
Psalm 18:32 “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”
Thank Him for His constancy.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
And, best of all, thank Him for the gift of eternal life through His Son.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Start a new tradition this Thanksgiving and take time to thank God for all of the good He has given to us, for “apart from you [God], I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2) You will discover that the more you give thanks to Him, the more you will find to thank Him for. He’s waiting for you.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
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