Thanksgiving

Give Thanks!

Thanksgiving Day receives something of a token acknowledgment as far as holidays are concerned. It is almost completely bypassed in stores as the transition is made from Halloween to Christmas décor. The following day, Black Friday consumes much more advertising and time of planning and commitment by many. The day itself has largely become occasions for family and friends to gather for parades and football on television, grand feasts, with a turkey and the appropriate trimmings, all of which are good things we can enjoy in this life. But what is so often forgotten in the activities of all these things is a time of genuine expressions of thanks to the living and true God as He is seen in Scripture.

We should not be surprised that a society that has very little knowledge of God would have no sense of gratitude to One whose very existence they may even question. Who exactly do self-sufficient and self-reliant people offer gratitude and thanks?

Sadly, there is a parallel between the world and the people of God, who too infrequently offer expressions of thanks to God for the many blessings received daily. If there is one group who should be leading the way in the regular offering of thanks to God, it is those who have become his people by trusting in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 107 is a call to thanksgiving (the act, not the day), reminding us of the many reasons it should be the normal, routine practice of the grace-filled heart. Come this Sunday ready to receive instruction and exhortation from this Psalm, and willing to be renewed in our commitment to the giving of thanks to our God in our daily lives.