Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)
Thanksgiving is this week. It is a holiday that is received with such mixed feelings by the world.
On the one hand, they love the getting together and having dinner with their family and friends is great. There is all of the traditional Thanksgiving stuff to eat and it is almost always a good time.
I can remember Thanksgivings from when I was a little boy. It was always exciting and there was always a ton of food (a definite plus to a little boy) complete with pies and cakes and cookies. Not only that, but it opened the Christmas season. After Thanksgiving came all of the holidays with more food and presents and stuff, then Christmas eve and Christmas morning with more presents and food.
By the time we were through with it all, we were 10 pounds heavier and we had had a good time.
I got to see relatives that I hadn’t seen in a long time (sometimes that was good, sometimes not) but in general, Thanksgiving was fun.
On the other hand, the world doesn’t know quite what to do with the Thanksgiving part of the Thanksgiving season. In an increasingly secular society, who do they give thanks to?
One of the most grating things in our modern world is the term “Turkey Day.” It reduces the whole thing to food and eating and such. When you have Turkey Day, you don’t have to worry about thanking anyone except the people who made the food.
But like Christmas without Jesus, Thanksgiving without Thanksgiving is worthless. It is just another season like Halloween or Valentine’s Day for the commercial world to make money.
They key is to remember the thanksgiving. Remember what you have and where it came from. Certainly not yourself. In my own life, I know for a fact that all of my blessings are God-given. I am certainly not good enough to have a wife like I have or other things in my life.
As the psalmist says, Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercies endure forever.
This Thanksgiving, I am going to thank him for all he has done and for all he will do. praise be to his name.
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