When I was in grade school, I remember the excitement around celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. There was a student contest every year in art class, and the best and most elaborately decorated turkey poster would be chosen. I have very fond memories of those times, but it does seem odd that a turkey is the symbol most recognized for such a precious holiday. There’s nothing sweeter than memories of good food and the gathering of family and friends, and there’s no more appropriate time to be thankful and celebrate. The problem is that this precious memory-making celebration is being squeezed by a lot of other distractions, and we need to make extra sure we don’t lose sight of why it’s so special.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we live in an environment where we are being rushed to get past Thanksgiving as quickly as possible. If it’s not a sports event, it’s a Black Friday Sale that many feel pressured to take advantage of, so they can get the best deal on Christmas gifts. The stores don’t even wait until the holiday is over any more, and open their doors to early Christmas shoppers on the day of Thanksgiving. At some point, we have to take a stand! We must not allow our minds to become so crowded with distractions that we neglect to take one day to dedicate simply to the grace and practice of being thankful.
God created us with the capacity to experience thankfulness, and this alone should point out for us how important it is to Him. Thankfulness is a Godly quality that is rooted in an awareness of value, importance, and worthiness of others, as well as the blessings that each of us have. It expresses our appreciation, and is integral to walking in faith and honoring Heavenly Father.
It is very important for us to wake up to the reality that we might be allowing opportunities of expressing our gratitude to Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ to slip by us. This not only applies to the Thanksgiving holiday, but on every day. We’ve got to do a better job as Christians of being thankful, because when we’re not reminding ourselves daily to take note of the blessings that God provides, we are not honoring the goodness of God.
It’s not always about the big things that God does for us. It’s those seemingly small details like having highways for transportation, street lights to see when its dark, and markets of which to purchase goods. Then there’s the big things like good health, healthy children, a roof over our heads, and employment. Sometimes we don’t recognize the significance of God’s protection and covering of our families until something happens to bring it to light. So often we take all of this for granted, but every single aspect of our existences is woven together and held that way because of God. He’s the very air we breathe, and we can do nothing without Him.
Some people would like to skip the holiday altogether. They find the hustle and bustle of planning and entertaining stressful, but we can’t let feelings of angst rob God of the glory and honor that He so overwhelmingly deserves. There is so much going on in our world; much sadness, chaos, devastation, confusion, and doubt. It can be challenging to focus on what God is doing inwardly when there are so many distractions outwardly, but we can’t afford to lose touch with ourselves during this time. We must take the opportunity to pull back those layers that shroud our hearts, and let the truth of our identity in Christ shine through. A spirit of thankfulness is at the core of our being, and we cannot continue to deny it.
1 John 3:24 (MSG) tells us, “As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.” We experience God’s presence through the Holy Spirit that lives within. God has sealed us with His love through the Spirit. 1John 4:13 says that we are in Him through Jesus Christ! He is in us, and He has given us a part of Himself as proof that we live in Him. This is rich beyond reason, and we need to show our gratitude for it every day!
Psalm 92:1(NLT) tells us, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.” So honoring God through a spirit of thankfulness and gratitude is not only pleasing to the Father, but it is good for us. True, heart-anchored thanksgiving positively impacts our lives in many ways, but one of the most important things is that it reminds us that we are always in the presence of God, because He is in us.
We need to seek His purposes every moment of our lives. We must acknowledge that everything we are is because of Him and show our gratitude by loving and honoring Heavenly Father, particularly during this special day of giving thanks. Remember, it doesn’t matter who we’re with, how much food is on the table, or if we’re celebrating with Jesus alone, as long as we have the Lord in our lives, it’s the best Thanksgiving ever.■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Best Thanksgiving Ever” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.