Happy Thanksgiving! Today we gather together to eat a lot of food, watch football, and celebrate family. While some want to tarnish the true meaning of the holiday, I think it is important to remember that today is a day to be thankful! The Bible mentions thankful or thankfulness 139 times; most of those references are instructions to show our thankfulness to God. Many hymns have been written on the subject; last Sunday we sang Count Your Blessings. That song has lingered in my head over the past few days.

“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

Yesterday, I spent the day filled with nervous energy. My mom was in the hospital, on the other side of the country, and I couldn’t be there or do anything. I have been struggling with what to write this week and the added stress of an unexpected medical event, didn’t help me either. It did however, center my heart back to God. I spent time at my dining room table, late at night, reading through the Psalms. I took my stress and concern to the Lord. We all go through times of trial and pain. I know that during those times of fear and sorrow, we can look to God for His comfort. We can rely on His Spirit to lead us, and we can trust that He is in control, even as our world seemingly spins off its axis.

 It’s easy to get caught up in all the chaos of the season. I fear however, we have grown complacent, and we have forgotten the true meaning of Thanksgiving. The holiday is so commercialized now. Are we more excited about Black Friday and all the shopping deals than we are about taking time to truly be thankful? A quick search on Amazon books for “thankfulness” brought up over 30,000 results. Are we so trapped in our discouragement that we need 30,000 reminders to be thankful? That is remarkable to me!

And if we are to be thankful, who are we to give that thankfulness to? God, the one and only, true source of all that we have! Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” He deserves our praise and our gratitude. And a heart of gratitude is so much lighter than a heart of discouragement! Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 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.”

So, today wherever you are—whatever your situation—take time and offer your praise and thanksgiving to God! He is the giver of life, the author of all creation! Let your heart be light and be filled with praises to Him, for Him and through Him. -Amen

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17)