Thanksgiving

November is the month of Thanksgiving, I’ll bet that when you were a little child your mom taught you to say “please and thank you.” I remember so many times when someone gave me a piece of candy or a gift, my mom saying, “And Diane, what do you say?”

Do you think that’s what God wants from us – a polite “Thank You?” I really don’t think so. Oh, I believe He wants to hear us say the words, but only if they come from deep within our hearts. A heart overflowing with gratitude is what God expects from His children.

Colossians 2:6-7 tells us, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

God wants our hearts to be filled to the brim and overflowing with thankfulness to HIM. I get a little upset at Thanksgiving time, because it’s lost much of the meaning it held when our nation began to celebrate that holiday. The early settlers were Christian people who, with overflowing hearts thanked God for His care, His provisions, and His help.

It wasn't until 1941 Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday. That may have been a good thing, and maybe not, considering what the holiday has become. People think of it as a day of watching football and eating Turkey. In fact many of the cards you see in the stores refer only to “Turkey Day.” If you see a card that speaks of giving thanks, it seems more often than not the emphasis is on thanking other people – not God. That wasn’t the way the observance began, and if we think about where everything ultimately comes from – it’s probably not the way it should be celebrated now.

Hebrews 12:28 tells us, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

Worshipping God with thankfulness, with reverence and awe, means seeing Him as He is - The Ultimate, The Creator, The Life Giver, The Gift Giver, and our Savior.

So what should we be thankful to God for?  The scripture tells us some of the things.

People  - 1 Timothy 2:1 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—“

Think about the people that have filled your life over the years, family, friends, and acquaintances, teachers and preachers. They are all people who have helped you grow and taught you life lessons. Some of the lessons were hard and others were taught in a gentle manner. I think about one man who served as the preacher for our church in Texas for a short time. He taught us all to laugh and he taught us to hug and he taught us generosity. This man had a huge influence in my life and the lives of my husband and children – because he lived exactly that way – laughing, hugging and giving.  I also think about my parents who brought me up in a home that was dedicated to God.

Every gift - In 1 Timothy 4:4 we read, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”

Everything that God created is good. Wow! When He made the world, the grass, the trees, the fish and the birds and the sky and the sea, He said “It is good.” But as we look around us, and as we receive the blessings that God has given us, do we receive them with thanksgiving? Do we actually thank HIM for warmth, for sunlight, for rain, for a place to lay our tired heads at night? Or do we think that we did something to earn all of that?

James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Every situation -  The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Every situation may not be pleasant. I’m sure that many of you know that with a deeper intensity than I do, and there are times that all we can do is cry. God says not to be anxious, but how can we do that?   The scripture says, by prayer and petition – by talking to God, but always with a grateful heart. and “with thanksgiving.” I don’t believe we need to be pleased with adversity, but we can always be thankful to God that He is in the adversity with us.

He walks with me
In sunshine or in rain
He’s by my side
Oh may I ne’re complain
He aches with me
As I try to stand in vain
He breathes for me
when my body’s racked with pain.

God loves me so
May I with heart and voice
Give thanks to Him
And in His love rejoice.

Remember with me that Thanksgiving is a decision not a date on the calendar.

May God bless each one of you  - I thank God that He put you into my life..