Thanksgiving

I always look forward to Thanksgiving Day. It is a time for friends and families to get together, enjoy a meal, and recall the many blessings the Lord has so graciously bestowed on them. I realize that the day may be different this year because of COVID-19, but there is still much for which to give thanks.

It is good that we have a national holiday designated as Thanksgiving Day. It calls attention to the fact that it is in order to be thankful for our blessings. The Lord has blessed this nation in so many ways, yet we hear far more words of complaint than expressions of gratitude. Though some may say they are thankful, they stop short of acknowledging that the One to Whom thanks is to be given is the true and living God.  But for those who recognize that, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17), a thankful spirit should dominate their life.

Even Christians can fall short in this area. One of the besetting sins of the Israelites when traveling in the wildness was the sin of murmuring. Are you prone to be a complainer or do you apply this biblical admonition: "In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18)? God has given us so much; how can we not be thankful for His tender mercies and abundant blessings? 

If God has brought your heart to hope in Christ and His great salvation, it is essential that your response be one of genuine gratitude. Will you resolve afresh to consciously and purposely give thanks to God daily for His many mercies?