Giving Thanks

It's almost Thanksgiving Day....

This week many people in the United States will be focusing on food, stuffing themselves with turkey and all the trimmings, watching football games, and trying to figure out what fills their hearts with thankfulness. We call it "Thanksgiving," and like many good ideas it has become a commercialized event that has lost much of its initial meaning. It started out as a harvest celebration after a hard year for the Pilgrims - a chance to show their thankfulness for surviving through some tough times. Over the years it has morphed into a time of family get-togethers and a day away from work - and excessive eating with a hedonistic twist.

I'm sure that around many tables there will be attempts to share what makes families and friends thankful. However, after the recent weeks of financial collapse and fear for the future, it might not be as easy to find something that fills the hearts with thanks. In fact, some people will probably skip that traditional part and just jump into chewing on a turkey leg.

I am reminded of Paul's admonition in his first letter to the members of the infant church at Thessalonica. In chapter 5, verses 16 through 18, he says: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

And I can hear some people saying, "How can I 'rejoice' when the drop in the stock market - down nearly 50 percent from it's highest point - destroyed my retirement fund? How can I give thanks when my family is struggling, when people are losing jobs all around me, when I might be the next one on the chopping block, and when I have nothing to be sure of in my future? I'm probably going to lose my house - and you want me to be thankful?"

I'm not the one who said it - and I probably wouldn't be the one who would suggest it - but Paul had the audacity to tell this church that they needed to learn to rejoice and be thankful no matter what the circumstances. He must have had a reason to say that or there must have been some core belief that he wanted to instill in their minds about the act of thankfulness. And it was important enough to tack it on to the end of his letter.

Here's what I think: Giving thanks does something to us, something for us, and doesn't require something to first happen to us to make us thankful. Thankfulness is not based on good things happening to us, because we can never know at the time if something that happens is a good thing or a bad thing. Thankfulness is a decision based on the fact that God is still in control, and a willingness to say, as Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

And on a day like Thanksgiving we are given the opportunity to publicly express that in spite of everything falling apart, even when our future is scary, we can fill the air with praise to God and shouts of thankfulness for all that He has done in our lives. We can let the world know that we believe that God is in control and we gladly place our lives into to His keeping.

So, what will your Thanksgiving Day be like?

God bless you abundantly!