Many see Thanksgiving as a day of preparing and over-eating a delicious meal, sleeping in (unless your cooking), watching the Thanksgiving Day Parades, arguing over, shopping or planning a Black Friday trip, taking a nap and watching football.
Oh – and yes – Thanks – giving! It’s a time to thank God for all He has given us – for all He has blessed us with.
In fact, every day in the life of a believer should be a day of thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. Everything we have, have had or ever will have is a gift from God. Yet it seems that we often find ourselves forgetting God and are ungrateful and thankless.
There’s a story of two old friends who met each other on the street one day. One looked depressed, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you?”
The sad friend said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”
“Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”
“You don’t understand!” he interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”
Now the man’s friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so bummed?”
“This week . . . I got nothing!”
That’s a problem with receiving something on a regular basis. Even if it is a gift, we eventually come to expect it. If we receive a gift long enough, we come to view it almost as an entitlement. We feel hurt and even angry if we don’t receive it any longer.
It is the same way with the blessings God gives us every day. We don’t deserve our comfortable home that we live in, the beautiful scenery around us, the clean water we drink. The people in our lives. We come to expect these good things. We sometimes fail to be grateful and give thanks.
Let’s make an effort this thanksgiving to recognize the blessings we’ve come to take for granted.
Listen to what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Always be joyful . . . . . Never stop praying . . . . . . Be thankful in all circumstances
Profound words inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by Paul. If we take them to heart and apply them to our lives then they are transforming.
There are so many things for us to be grateful for:
God’s love, mercy and grace, the gift of salvation, and deliverance from the sins of our lives. Paul reminds of this in 1 Corinthians 1:4: I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
And we have so many other things to give thanks to God for. I’m going to pick some randomly – because the list could go on endlessly.
Your health and wellbeing, the opportunity to have an education, food on the table and a roof over your head, a job and/or income, access to modern medicine.
Your favorite song, hot showers, sunrises and sunsets, eyesight, a home cooked meal. Chocolate – dark chocolate, hugs. The fact that each day is a new chance to begin again! Freedom to vote, modern medicine, unconditional love.
Travel, date nights, laughter, sleep, a good cup of coffee or tea, good hair days, nature. The weekend, seasons, puppies and kittens.
And one more thing . . . thankfulness for the people God puts in our lives
This includes family, friends, acquaintances, and co- workers. Even people who tick you off.
God has given to us the chance to interact with other people. He has given us the chance so that we may impact their lives and have our own lives impacted. He has given us the ability to show or be shown the love of Jesus in the people who cross our paths.
God is so faithful. His mercies never end. And He has blessed you richly with all things.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34
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Rick Frederickson, Pastor