By Brother Guy Ames

In All Things, Give Thanks

¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT) 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I love Thanksgiving!  During my young years our family would gather for a tradition with friends.  Without exception, sometime during that day we would stop all the activities, television, eating and sit together for a time to reflect on those things for which we could give thanks.  Everyone, regardless of age added to the conversation, and after all these years the memories that have lasted have been of those warm-hearted circles of gratitude.

So, what does Thanksgiving Day hold for you?  To be sure, most folks think of Thanksgiving Day as a day of turkey, football, television, too much eating, family or friends, followed by Black Friday shopping.  But do you recall Thanksgiving’s earliest beginnings?

The earliest traditions come from the Old Testament, when Moses commanded the children of Israel to offer a festival of thanksgiving in memory of God’s provision for them in the wilderness.  The American tradition of Thanksgiving comes from the feast celebrated by the early Puritans at Plymouth Rock and a group of Native Americans who offered these Europeans true hospitality.  Later, President Abraham Lincoln formalized a day of thanksgiving during America’s bloody Civil War. Out of an abundance of need, not plenty, these earlier Americans offered thanks to God. 

Giving thanks in all things is an act of faith.  God calls us to be thankful, in all times and in all places.  Why?  A thankful attitude takes the focus off self and helps us to refocus from what we don’t have to what we do have. A thankful attitude helps us focus on God’s faithfulness, and reminds us that God provides. 

Genuine thanksgiving comes from a contented heart.  Over years, I have witnessed folks who, having lived through trauma and loss, emerge from their disaster with a profound sense of contentment and thanksgiving.  On the other hand, are those who somehow in the midst of their losses have become spiritually and emotionally stuck. Rather than reclaim a sense of God’s goodness and the possibilities of life, these become cynical and sometimes angry.  Those sad souls have continued to relive their losses, never moving very far forward from the places of disaster.  The contented souls share that one of the keys to a new life has been the re-discovery of the blessings still in their lives.

One of my favorite New Testament books is Paul’s brief letter to the Philippian Church.  This thank you letter is for the care package this small congregation had sent while he was imprisoned.  He shares appreciation for their thoughtfulness and the fact that only this church had sent anything.  This same congregation Paul holds up to the Corinthian church as an example of generosity (2 Corinthians 9: 1-5).  Near the end of his letter, he writes again how thankful he is to be remembered, not because he was in need but because it is good for them to be generous.  Then he adds that he has learned to be content having plenty and being without because, “I can do all things through (Christ) who strengthens me” (vs. 4.13).  True thanksgiving leads to generosity that flows from a contented heart grounded in faith. 

In the midst of days of great uncertainty and loss, the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk writes:

“Though the fig trees do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3: 17-18).

Prayer: Lord God, we declare that you are Good and have made all things good, but too often, in the midst of life’s challenges, we forget to trust and to be thankful.  Call our hearts away from the noise and problems of life to be still and to truly count our blessings, spending time hearing from You and offering thanks to You who has loved us so much that You sent Your only Son to redeem us.  We pray that you will draw our hearts into a true spirit of thanksgiving, “giving thanks in all things” knowing that this is Your will for us in Jesus.  Amen.