177 Sermon Illustrations on Thanksgiving

Majesty, worship His majesty,

Unto Jesus be all

glory, power and praise.

Majesty, kingdom authority

flow from His throne

unto His own,

His anthem raise.

So exalt, lift up on high

the name of Jesus.

Magnify, come glorify

Christ Jesus, the King.

Majesty, worship His majesty.

Jesus, who died, now glorified,

King of all kings.

*

Chorus

Let's just praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!

Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!

Let's just praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!

Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!

1. O we thank You for Your kindness, we think You for Your love,

We have been in heav'nly places, felt blessings from above;

We've been sharing all the good things the fam'ly can afford,

Let's just turn our praise t'ward heaven and praise the Lord.

2. Just the precious name of Jesus, is worthy of our praise,

Let us bow our knees before Him, our hands to heaven raise;

When He comes in clouds of glory with Him we'll ever reign,

Let's just lift our happy voices and praise His name.

*

Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart

and give Him praise,

and give Him praise.

Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart,

your voices raise,

your voices raise.

Give glory and honour and power unto Him,

Jesus, the name above all names.

*

This Thanksgiving, like many others from my childhood, I will head to a rural South Carolina church founded by an ancestor to spend the day with my father’s extended family. No doubt, we will have our fill of Lowcountry barbeque, chicken purlo, cornbread dressing, and sweet potato pie. Then my cousin will walk us through the cemetery across the road where generations of our family are buried and tell us their stories. As children, my brother and I counted on our father to rehearse tales of the living as we made the drive to the reunion. We remembered most of their names and faces (with namesakes like Tootsie, Bubber, and Sissy they are hard to forget!), but sometimes could not recollect our relationship to them.

Amazingly, my father never sat down to diagram our family tree, yet with a photo or letter in hand, he could recall each distant cousin, great-great aunt or uncle all the way back to the early 1600s. Now he too is buried in this cemetery, and with him, memories of relationships I still tend to forget.

The importance of remembering our family story is a central theme in the Scriptures, of course, particularly in the Old Testament, where the word “remember” and its variant forms is found some 200 times. The verb often stands in the imperative: “But remember the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:18); “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome” (Nehemiah 4:14). The concept connotes the idea of “being mindful” of something as well as “to trust” and “to hold onto.” In every instance in Deuteronomy “remember” is found in the context of God’s covenant relationship with his people and his faithfulness to them. For example, in giving the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath, God declares, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15). God exhorts his people again and again to consider their status before Him and his steadfast love toward them (see e.g., Deuteronomy 4:10; 16:12; 32:7).

Yet as humans we are apt to forget. Whether through heartache, confusion, or busyness, we lose sight of God, and consequently, who we are in relation to Him. Surely this is one reason why Jesus reiterates a foundational truth in the biblical story in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. He declares, “[L]et your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (5:16). Here he discloses intimate insight to his disciples: God is your father. Now God is identified as “father” in the Old Testament fifteen times. Most often this metaphor is used in a corporate sense (that is, God is the Father of Israel), and a few times as the father of specific individuals. Interestingly, the only two instances in which someone is said to have a personal relationship with God as his father (2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 89:28) are prophetic verses promising God’s faithfulness to King David and his descendants, and ultimately his Messiah to come.

Conversely, sixteen times in his sermon in Matthew 5-7 Jesus identifies God as “your heavenly Father” or “your Father”(1) -- and a total of 165 times in the four Gospels. “[A] unique feature of Jesus’ teaching concerning the Fatherhood of God is that the frequency of this metaphor is out of all proportion to what we find elsewhere in the Old Testament and other Jewish literature,” biblical scholar Robert Stein observes. “This was not just a way Jesus taught his disciples to address God; it was the way.”(2)

In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus describes his Father’s tender care for his creation: He feeds the birds and makes the flowers grow. “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Jesus asks (v. 26). He makes another lesser-to-greater comparison in 7:9-11, this time between a good earthly father and our heavenly Father, when he exclaims, “[H]ow much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” God is compassionate, attentive, and trustworthy, says Jesus, and as his children, we can come to Him, communicate with Him, and rest in his care.

So like the Pilgrims and Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving, might we take time to remember God’s character and provision. The great Puritan theologian John Owen, a contemporary of the first Pilgrims to America, did just that in his devotional treatise Communion with the Triune God. “The love of the Father is a love of bounty” wrote Owen, which “lies at the bottom of all dispensations toward us.”(3)

Knowing our often disquieted and forgetful hearts, Owen then reminds us,

“Flesh and blood is apt to have very hard thoughts of him -- to think he

is always angry, yea, implacable.... Now, there is not anything more

grievous to the Lord, nor more subservient to the design of Satan upon

the soul, than such thoughts as these.... The Lord takes nothing worse

at the hands of his, than such hard thoughts of him, knowing full well

what fruit this bitter root is like to bear -- what alienations of heart

-- what drawings back, what unbelief and [evasions] in our walking with

him. How unwilling is a child to come into the presence of an angry

father! ... Is not this soul-deceit from Satan? Was it not his design

from the beginning to inject such thoughts of God? Assure yourself,

then, there is nothing more acceptable unto the Father than for us to

keep up our hearts unto him as the eternal fountain of all that rich

grace which flows out to sinners in the blood of Jesus....

So much as we see of the love of God, so much shall we delight in him,

and no more. Every other discovery of God, without this, will but make

the soul fly from him.”(4)

________

1. This includes the use of “Our Father in heaven” in Matthew 6:9 where Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray. Because God is your father, says Jesus, “This, then, is how you should pray...”

2. See “Fatherhood of God” by Robert Stein in BAKER’S EVANGELICAL DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY, Walter A. Elwell, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1996). Available online at http://bible.christianity.com/mybst/default.aspx?type=library&contentid=87537&category=REF.

3. John Owen, COMMUNION WITH THE TRIUNE GOD, Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor, eds. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 118. This recent release is an updated, more readable edition. Owen’s original work is available online at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/communion.html.

4. Ibid., 126-128.

________

Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #11788]

Rudyard Kipling was a British poet whose writings have blessed many people. He was a very famous writer even before he died, and made a great deal of money at his trade.

A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word." Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, "Really, I certainly wasn't aware of that." The reporter cynically reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to Kipling and said, "Here's a $100 bill Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your $100 words."

Rudyard Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks."

Few things reveal the hollowness of American Christianity with any more clarity than the collapse of Thanksgiving. In this age of contention over the role of Christianity in the public square, Thanksgiving has survived at all only because it has been emptied of its true spiritual and religious significance. Many have deemed it a “secular holiday,” the blatant contradiction built into the linguistic root of “holiday” notwithstanding.

Just how far have we moved? One Amazon.com customer has compiled a list of secular Thanksgiving children’s picture books, to which the customer offers this preface: “It can be difficult for parents and teachers to find picture books that approach Thanksgiving in a secular way. This is a list of titles that do not interpret the holiday in a religious manner. Although several of these books mention characters being ‘thankful,’ they do not depict anyone saying grace/giving thanks to a higher power.” In other words, these books go out of their way to obfuscate the truth about Thanksgiving in America.

Of 25 such titles for sale at Amazon.com, one is entitled “Thank-You, Thanksgiving.” The title gives away the absurdity of the proposition. If there is no personal God who has intervened in American history, then there is no one left to thank -- so let’s thank the day itself. Another book is “Thank-You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving.” Since we can no longer thank the God we have forgotten, this book redirects thanks to Sarah Hale, a writer and woman’s magazine editor who prevailed upon Abraham Lincoln to use his influence to turn Thanksgiving from a states-based event into a true national holiday. Never mind the unsettling fact that the real Sarah operated from a Christian worldview and that her true desire was to ensure that all Americans were involved in giving due reverence to God for his many blessings.

Every effort to redefine Thanksgiving into a holiday that suits the secularist agenda is destined to fail. The true Christian origins and intentions of Thanksgiving are unmistakably revealed in a mountain of historical and literary evidence. The Protestant Reformation gained steam in part from its cry to return ad fonts -- that is to the biblical source itself, not the layered interpretations built up over centuries that had effectively hidden the biblical meaning. Thanksgiving is a time when American Christians need to return to the sources themselves.

For example, the Continental Congress issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1777 that could arguably be considered the first such national decree. Printed in The Journals of Congress, it reads:

“It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive

powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th

day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that

with one heart and one voice the good people may express the

grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to

the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with

their sincere acknowledgements and offerings, they may join the

penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had

forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication

that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ,

mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it

may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the

governments of these states respectively, and prosper the public

council of the whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and

sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may

render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty

God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all human

blessings, independence and peace; that it may please him to

prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of

the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take

schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating

the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his

nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the

promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in

righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Where, I ask, is “thank-you Thanksgiving” or “thank-you, Sarah” in all of that? To paraphrase what Charles Spurgeon once said about the Bible, the true roots of Thanksgiving do not need so much to be defended as they need to be turned loose.

Thanksgiving is a time to recognize the blessings of God on this nation. It is also a time to repent of sin and seek forgiveness through the work of Christ. It is a time to pray for wisdom for our leaders and protection over our military personnel. In the present economic malaise, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to ask God to ensure the future prosperity of the nation.

The pulpits of America once resounded with sermons built around these themes during the season of Thanksgiving. Like the Founding Fathers before them, men entered the pulpit and drew attention, especially, to the Psalms of thanksgiving found in the Bible. They recognized that the active hand of God in American history called for similar offerings of praise and thanks from our people. May God grant that a remnant of Christians in America cherish and preserve the authentic meaning and practice of Thanksgiving for future generations.

________

Paul Brewster is pastor of Barlow-Vista Baptist Church in Hampstead, N.C.

*

[Original illustration at this number was moved to HolwickID #10959]

A large family sat around the table for breakfast one morning. As the custom was, the father returned thanks, blessing God for the food.

Immediately afterward, however, as was his bad habit, he began to grumble about hard times, the poor quality of the food he was forced to eat, the way it was cooked, and much more. His little daughter interrupted him saying, "Father, do you suppose God heard what you said a little while ago?" "Certainly," replied the father with the confident air of an instructor. "And did He hear what you said about the bacon and the coffee?" "Of course," the father replied, but not as confidently as before. Then his little girl asked him again, "Then, Father, which did God believe?"

I will enter His gates

with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter His courts

with praise.

I will say, “This is the day

that the Lord has made,

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.”

He has made me glad,

He has made me glad;

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.

He has made me glad,

He has made me glad;

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.

*

In 1914 Thomas Edison’s laboratory caught on fire. When he realized how big the blaze was, Edison sent word to his family and friends, “Get down here quick. You may never again see anything like this!”

Edison lost 2 million dollars in equipment and the record of a life’s work. Walking through the rubble with his son Charles, he said, “There’s a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

How many would be able to respond with gratitude after such loss? Giving thanks to God, Edison started anew. Many great inventions came after his laboratory burned.

How can we reap the benefits of a thankful heart all year long?

• Planting seeds of gratitude.

We each face a decision about what to plant in our heart. “We can decide to be grateful or to be bitter” (theologian Henri Nouwen). The wise man chooses to plant seeds of gratitude: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Being thankful is something all Christians are responsible to do.

We can’t command our feelings, but we can command our will. We can determine to say “thank You, Lord” even when we don’t feel like it. And, our emotions will follow our actions.

• Cultivating a thankful heart.

When you plant seeds of thanksgiving in your heart, the water of God’s Word will keep them alive. So, “give thanks always for all things to God the Father” (Ephesians 5:20) and “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Whenever we come before God, we are always to come with a grateful heart.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Think about the things God has done for you. List the blessings of God in your life. Then, imagine if each thing were taken away from you. What would your life be like? Now mentally put each person and thing back on your list and be thankful.

• Blossom gratitude.

No matter what our circumstance, we can find a reason to be thankful. You may find yourself in a terrible family or work situation. Give thanks in the midst of your problems.

Choose to be thankful wherever you are -- even a lion’s den. Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 116:17). Pray and sing. Say thank-you to God in prayer. Tell others of His goodness. Serve God with a cheerful heart and thankful attitude.

• The fruit of thanksgiving.

Show me a person who is thankful, and I’ll show you a person who can endure the most difficult situation in life and still find joy. Who is the greatest saint in the world? The one who is always thankful to God, who receives everything as an expression of God’s goodness, and has a heart ready to praise God for everything he gets. That is a saint (author William Law).

Paul writes that we’re to speak to each other in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs...giving thanks always” (Ephesians 5:19-20). A spirit of gratitude not only enhances our relationship with our heavenly Father, it improves the way we relate and talk to one another.

Someone asked a farmer famous for raising a superior strain of wheat why he let his competitors benefit from his research. “Aren’t you afraid their wheat will be as good as yours?” The farmer replied that when his neighbors grew proper grain and their grain pollinated his crops, he reaped the benefits. Thanksgiving works that way. When we give it freely to God or to others, we always have a residual benefit that comes back to us.

• Sowing and reaping.

The Bible says clearly says your reap what you sow. If you plant seeds of gratitude, you can expect an abundant harvest of God’s blessings. The opposite is also true. Ingratitude has no friends.

Don’t allow an ungrateful spirit to rob you of life’s richness. Thank God daily for who He is, and what He has done for you. Let this attitude of gratitude grow strong, not only at Thanksgiving, but throughout the year.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #20326]

1. I sing praises to Your name, O Lord,

praises to Your name, O Lord,

for Your name is great

and greatly to be praised.

I sing praises to Your name, O Lord,

praises to Your name, O Lord,

for Your name is great

and greatly to be praised.

2. I give glory to Your name, O Lord,

glory to Your name, O Lord,

for Your name is great

and greatly to be praised.

I give glory to Your name, O Lord,

glory to Your name, O Lord,

for Your name is great

and greatly to be praised.

*

Great is the Lord, He is holy and just,

by His power we trust in His love.

Great is the Lord, He is faithful and true,

by His mercy He proves He is love.

Great is the Lord, and worthy of glory,

Great is the Lord, and worthy of praise.

Great is the Lord, now lift up your voice,

now lift up your voice:

Great is the Lord! Great is the Lord!

Great is the Lord, He is holy and just,

by His power we trust in His love.

Great is the Lord, He is faithful and true,

by His mercy He proves He is love.

Great are You, Lord, and worthy of glory,

Great are You, Lord and worthy of praise.

Great are You, Lord, I lift up my voice,

I lift up my voice:

Great are You, Lord! Great are you, Lord!

*

Thanksgiving is probably the most significant American holiday because of the favor it has experienced from some of our greatest leaders. And the Thanksgiving tradition serves as a valuable history lesson for civil libertarians who carelessly attempt to ignore our nation's prominent religious heritage that should not be swept under the proverbial rug.

The Thanksgiving tradition can be traced back to the early Pilgrims who held a feast in 1621 after a substantial harvest. Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving, inviting Indian chief Massasoit and many of his people to this three-day feast. Squanto, the Pilgrim's translator and friend, was present as well. While this banquet would not become an annual event, it beautifully signified the heartfelt thanks of the early colonists for God's blessing on them.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, determined that they would officially express thanks for their prosperity. By unanimous vote, they instructed clerk Edward Rawson to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving.

That proclamation read, in part: “... and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.”

It was not, however, until Nov. 1, 1777, that the first official national recognition of Thanksgiving was given, when declared by the Continental Congress following Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga. The defeat of Burgoyne and his army came following a grueling campaign that began with the British victory at Ticonderoga, and our leaders desired to express thanks to God for the victory.

Throughout the 1700s, it was common practice for the colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout the years. Then, on Oct. 3, 1789, George Washington, during his first year as president, set aside Thursday, November 26, as “A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer.” This official decree by the young national government determined that the day should “be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

No early variety of the American Civil Liberties Union arrived on the scene that day to protest Washington's action with a lawsuit. No primitive version of Barry Lynn [of Americans United for Separation of Church and State] was there to claim that a government endorsement of a day of Thanksgiving might “offend” somebody. Instead, the nation enthusiastically welcomed this proclamation with grateful hearts.

On Oct. 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation distinguishing the fourth Tuesday of November as a national Thanksgiving holiday. President Lincoln also declared days of Thanksgiving for Sunday, April 13 -- following the Union victory at Shiloh -- and Aug. 6, 1863, in recognition of the Union's success at Gettysburg.

Mr. Lincoln's October 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation read, in part: “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

What eloquent and provocative words these are.

President Andrew Johnson set aside a special Thanksgiving on Dec. 7, 1865 (celebrating the Union victory), and each president since that time has declared an annual national Thanksgiving. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the holiday to the third Thursday of November (to broaden the Christmas shopping season), but after much protest, two years later changed Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November, where it remains today.

As you can see, Thanksgiving holds a special place in the history of our nation. Our Founders were men who were not afraid to boldly declare thanks to Almighty God for honoring the nation.

The words of Benjamin Franklin, speaking to the Constitutional Convention, on June 28, 1787, brilliantly express the sentiment of our Founding Fathers: “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?”

This Thanksgiving, I encourage all parents and grandparents to remind their families of the great Judeo-Christian heritage of America. It is up to us to keep alive the legacy of religious freedom and passion that sparked this nation. May the words of Irving Berlin's “God Bless America” (1938) remain our constant theme as we battle to preserve the Judeo-Christian heritage of our dear nation.

_____________

Falwell is pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Va., and chancellor of Liberty University.

*

When in a public restaurant, should we pray a blessing before eating? If so, how should we do it? We just saw a lady in a restaurant who made a spectacle of her prayer so that everyone would be sure to notice that she was praying. I’m sure she felt she was witnessing, but I’m not sure that is the way to witness. It almost looks like phariseeism — “look at me, I’m praying — I’m ‘spiritual’.”

Prayer, even giving thanks for food, is a personal and private communication between you and God. I believe we should offer a prayer of thanks, even in a public restaurant, but I don’t think we should do it through a megaphone.

We have very little Scripture on this aspect of prayer, except the example of Christ at feeding the 5000 when He gave thanks. He did say this in Matt. 6:5 (NLT), “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on the street corners (or restaurants?) and in the synagogues (yes, churches, too) where everyone can see them.” We are all aware how difficult it is to pray publicly and pray strictly to God and not to be heard of men.

Suggestion — when you pray noticeably in a restaurant, be sure to leave a nice tip! We don’t want to give God a bad name.

[Holwick - I think Acts 27:35 is one of the clearest examples of a public table grace in the Bible.]

Blessed Beyond Measure!

• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness… you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation… you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death… you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep… you are richer than 75% of this world.

• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace… you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

• If your parents are still alive and still married… you are very rare, even in the United States.

• If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful… you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

• If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them, or even touch them on the shoulder… you are blessed because in a world that is dying from lack of touch, you can offer Spirit’s healing embrace.

• If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore… you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are. — Author unknown.

“A bird does not sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song.”

“What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.” (Hugh Mulligan)

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says… “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

I love the Bible search engines available for most computers. I have them on my Windows machines, I have them on my Macs, I even have them on my PDA’s. Every once in a while, I like to just put in a phrase and see what rolls out. Since Thanksgiving in the U.S. is approaching, I thought I would do a thanksgiving search — not about the holiday, but about the attitude, the lifestyle, of thanksgiving. So I checked out the phrase “with thanksgiving” and this is what rolled out:

• I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. — Psalm 69:30

• Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. — Psalm 95:2

• Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. — Psalm 100:4

• Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. — Psalm 147:7

• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6

• They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving… — 1 Timothy 4:3-4

As I examined these “random” passages, they taught me several powerful lessons.

First, when we talk about going into the presence of the Holy, Almighty God, we go with thanksgiving. We don’t go with fear, regret, dread, sorrow, anguish, but with thanksgiving. Now don’t get me wrong, we approach God with a deep and reverential awe. We also go with the things that are on our hearts, small and large, good and bad. We approach him out of the place we find ourselves in our lives and he meets us there. But, for God, the key to our approach is thanksgiving and praise. No matter where we are in our walk through the world, we know our destination, we know our victory lies ahead around God’s corner, and we know that God’s grace has triumphed over our doubts and defeats. So when we approach God — whether in prayer, song, or meal — we go with thanksgiving!

Second, thanksgiving before God is not just about things we consider “normal worship,” like prayer and song, but it also involves our food. We remember Jesus’ example when he broke bread and blessed it (cf. Matthew 15:36). We know the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus as they ate together with him (see Luke 24:35). In fact, if you listen closely to Luke’s story of Jesus and the Early Church (in Luke and Acts), you can tell his story around the meals that are mentioned. Eating food with thanksgiving along with those that love us and that love Jesus is very much a part of worshiping God (Acts 2:46). Maybe that is why one of the words for the Supper of the Lord is The Thanksgiving (eucharisteow from which the word Eucharist comes — Luke 22:17, 19).

Third, a crucial part of a life that is triumphant over difficult circumstances is the ability to give thanks to God. This thanksgiving, offered even in the middle of difficulty and hardship, helps ransom our situation with the promises and grace of God. As Paul put it, “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (cf. Romans 8:31) Approaching God with thanksgiving in our songs, our prayers, and our meals helps us rise above the mundane and catch a glimpse of the glory our God longs to share with us.

So, whether you’re from the U.S. or not, why not take this week and dedicate it to giving thanks. Heaven will be a little closer, the hardships of this world will be a little more bearable, and the Father who waits to bring you home will definitely be near, enjoying it even more than us!

Author George MacDonald's definition of the “careless soul” is a definition we would do well to investigate. It is a careless soul, he explained, who receives good things as if they simply had a way of dropping into his hands, yet ever complaining, holds someone accountable for the setbacks he meets along the way. Writes MacDonald, “For the good that comes to him, he gives no thanks - who is there to thank? At the disappointments that befall him he grumbles - there must be someone to blame!”[1]

Think about this. Whether an atheist denying the existence of God, or a Christian overlooking the blessings of God, the contradiction is as obvious as it is rampant among us, even as it is unabashedly ignored. To overlook the good in our lives is to state that there is no one to thank. To grumble is to emphatically declare that there is someone to hold responsible. So which will it be?

It is interesting that we teach our children to be thankful and not to complain, or overlook the many things we are blessed with. Could it be that we know intuitively what we were created for intrinsically? To be thankful is to recognize that the blessing is bigger than me, that there is something or someone working beyond me. Isn't the one who is thankful for the tree's shade, also thankful for the one who planted it? What of the One who made it? The countless hints of kindness that surround us in moments of beauty, provision, and order are rumors which tell us that we are not alone, that we are not orphans or nomads roaming the earth.

A grateful heart is widened to wonder as it follows the sunbeam up to the sun. It is possible, with practice, to see only the sunbeam and not the sun. But a thankful heart, reminds Tozer, has no room for cynicism-there is, in all things, Someone greater to thank.

Billy Graham tells the story of theologian Matthew Henry who at an old age was mugged on the street. That night he wrote in his diary, “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” I wonder what I would have written in my diary. What might you have penned in yours?

Hear the commanding and yet inviting words of Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

Throughout the psalms we are reminded to give thanks to God, to praise the Lord. Here the psalmist reminds us to remind ourselves why. Remember again and again the things He has done. Forget not all His benefits. Speak of His kindness, speak of His provision, and remember the moments when He has mightily touched your life with redemption and mercy. Even Jesus rolling away the stone of Lazarus' tomb gave thanks to God for the miracle He would perform in the motionless heart of Lazarus, in the hearts of those watching. To be thankful is to keep our eyes, and hearts, and minds upon the Giver of Life.

Let us not be careless with our words, with our memories, with our visions of God at work among us. He has crowned us with much, let us be careful to crown Him Lord.

____________

1. George MacDonald, An Anthology (San Francisco: Harper, 1946), p. 84.

____________

Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Try Thanksgiving — Read: Psalm 92:1-9

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. — Psalm 92:1

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 18-19; James 4

When we’re going through a difficult time, we may not feel particularly grateful. Yet, even in periods of suffering and fear, we can thank God for His abundant promises and unfailing goodness. When we do express our gratitude to God, a wonderful change takes place within us.

Henry W. Frost, veteran missionary to China, discovered this for himself. He said, “I had received sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: Try Thanksgiving. I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the psalmist was right. ‘It is good to give thanks to the Lord.’”

Perhaps you have felt a shadow come over your spiritual life recently. Or maybe you’re struggling under heavy burdens that seem unbearable. If so, bow your head and thank the Lord for all He has done for you. Tell Him you know He loves you and has not abandoned you. Express your gratitude for your salvation, for life itself, and for the good things He has given you. Then you will begin to experience for yourself the blessing of thanksgiving. — DCE

If we were thankful for everything

The way God tells us to be,

What a wonderful change in our living

We would be able to see! — Eaker

A heavy heart is made lighter when the weight of ingratitude is lifted.

Thankful for That? — Read: Psalm 100

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:18

When the devastating floods came to Mozambique last March, families were separated as they fled from the rising waters. The death toll rose as the floods receded and bodies that had been submerged were discovered. Some counts were in the thousands.

One Mozambique minister named Samuel Naftal gave thanks to God and mosquitoes for saving his life. As Samuel, along with 16 other people, clung tightly to the limbs of trees for 2 days, he began to preach. All of them hoped his preaching would keep them alert to their surroundings. They listened and watched as furniture, TVs, and dead cows floated by.

Then the mosquitoes began swarming around them, repeatedly biting them. Naftal testified, “I thank God for those mosquitoes because they kept me from falling asleep. If we had fallen asleep we would have been carried away by the water.” He and the others hung on and were finally able to wade to safety as the waters began to recede.

It’s not often that we are thankful for something like mosquitoes. They’ve ruined a lot of fun times outside on a summer night. (We sometimes wonder if it was really necessary that they had a place on Noah’s ark.) But the mosquito story reminded me of another person who was thankful for an insect.

Corrie Ten Boom, the well-known Dutch watchmaker who helped to hide Jews in her house during the Holocaust in Europe, was arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. She too found it hard to find anything good about her desperate situation. But her sister Betsie found a hidden blessing. She thanked God for the fleas that tormented them each day.

Fleas? Miserable fleas? Yes. The imprisoned women discovered that the presence of the fleas kept the guards away from their barracks, allowing the women to speak freely. It was a blessing wrapped up in a hardship.

Maybe this Thanksgiving you’re not feeling all that thankful. Life has been tough this semester. Nothing is going well and you are discouraged.

Can you step outside of your situation for a moment and try to find something, however small, that you can be thankful for today? Even something that you would not normally be thankful for?

Ask God to bring something to mind. When we give thanks to God, we are not only acting in obedience to Him, but we can find a blessing — even in our trials. — CK

REFLECTION

• What am I discouraged about today? What am I thankful for?

• Why does God want me to give thanks in the middle of difficult circumstances?

Expressing thanks is an act that starts from an attitude.

God helps us in our troubles. If you worry, you are on your own.

GEORGE WASHINGTON in his first Presidential Proclamation: “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.” 1789.

SAMUEL ADAMS Father of the American Revolution: “It is therefore recommended… to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor… “ November (Adopted by the 13 states as the first official Thanksgiving Proclamation.)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN at the time of the Civil War: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.” 1863.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” 1901.

SENECA NATION OF THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY “Our Creator shall continue to dwell above the sky, and that is where those on earth will end their thanksgiving.”

The late Dr. Fulton Oursler used to tell of an old woman who took care of him when he was a child. Anna was a former slave who, after emancipation, was hired by the family for many years.

He remembered her sitting at the kitchen table, her hands folded and her eyes gazing upward as she prayed, “Much obliged, Lord, for my vittles.” He asked her what vittles were and she replied that they were food and drink. He told her that she would get food and drink whether or not she gave thanks, and Anna said, “Yes, we'll get our vittles, but it makes 'em taste better when we're thankful.”

She told him that an old preacher taught her, as a little girl, to always look for things to be grateful for. So, as soon as she awoke each morning, she asked herself, “What is the first thing I can be grateful for today?” Sometimes the smell of early-morning coffee perking in the kitchen found its way to her room. On those mornings, the aroma prompted her to say, “Much obliged, Lord, for the coffee. And much obliged, too, for the smell of it!”

Young Fulton grew up and left home. One day he received a message that Anna was dying. He returned home and found her in bed with her hands folded over her white sheets, just as he had seen them folded in prayer over her white apron at the kitchen table so many times before.

He wondered what she could give thanks for at a time like this. As if reading his mind, she opened her eyes and gazed at the loving faces around her bed. Then, shutting her eyes again, she said quietly, “Much obliged, Lord, for such fine friends.”

Oursler was deeply influenced by Anna's uncanny ability to always find something to be thankful for. This wise woman taught him a vital secret that many people have never learned: she taught him how to be happy.

From One Minute Can Change a Life, by Steve Goodier, Life Support System Pub Inc, November 1, 1999, ISBN 1929664001, http://isbn.nu/1929664001

__________

Life Support System, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lifesupport/

“Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill,” goes the counsel of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I want to think about this for a moment. Do you feel pressure to reciprocate when someone treats you to lunch? Do you find yourself repaying kindness for kindness, compliment for compliment, and so on? You are far from alone if you do. According to sociologists today, this sense of obligation, which they refer to as the “Rule of Reciprocation,” is present in every single known human society. And the Rule of Reciprocation is as powerful as it is prevalent. Listen to the pointed remark of one psychologist: “So typical is it for indebtedness to accompany the receipt of [favors, gifts, and the like] that a phrase like 'much obliged' has become a synonym for 'thank you.'“ [1]

Perhaps the implications of that etymological statement could unveil our haste in responding to debt. After all, indebtedness is uncomfortable, isn't it? To be rid of it is liberating, whereas, gratitude asks much more of us. Our sense of indebtedness lingers in a state of being thankful.

Now, you can return a favor and still experience gratitude for the favor given you. But you can also return a favor simply to reciprocate, to mindlessly remove that feeling of indebtedness. In fact, one psychology class carried out a revealing experiment on this subject. The professor sent Christmas cards to a large list of strangers to test the Rule of Reciprocation. The response was astounding. Cards came pouring back to him, all from people he had never met, the vast majority never even inquiring into the identity of the unknown sender! They simply received his card, and automatically sent one in return.

What of the sense of obligation in your own life? Are you uncomfortable with indebtedness? I ask because there will be times in life when there is no fitting response to indebtedness. What will happen when you simply can't reciprocate? What happens when you find there is no fitting response to the gift or the giver?

Quite simply, you respond with gratitude. We come into the presence of the giver with thanksgiving and we are changed by the gift. And when the Giver is Christ, freely submitting to death for a debt that was ours, how then do we respond? I believe the old hymn offers much wisdom:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head,

For such a worm as I?

Thus might I hide my blushing face,

While His dear cross appears,

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,

And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay,

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give my self away,

’Tis all that I can do. [2]

Let us this Thanksgiving day find our hearts dissolved in thankfulness as we recall the gift of Christ. For it is gratitude that sees this undeserved gift for which there is no reciprocating and with devotion says, “Here I am, my Lord and my God. I am yours.”

__________

1. Robert Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice. (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001), p. 20.

2. Isaac Watts, Alas and Did my Savior Bleed? 1707.

__________

Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

=====================

Version from 11/25/04:

“Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill,” goes the counsel of Ralph Waldo Emerson. His advice is worth contemplating. Do you feel pressure to reciprocate when someone treats you to lunch? Do you find yourself repaying kindness for kindness, compliment for compliment, and so on? You are far from alone if you do. According to sociologists today, this sense of obligation, which they refer to as the “Rule of Reciprocation,” is present in every single known human society. And the Rule of Reciprocation is as powerful as it is prevalent. Listen to the pointed remark of one psychologist: “So typical is it for indebtedness to accompany the receipt of [favors, gifts, and the like] that a phrase like 'much obliged' has become a synonym for 'thank you.'“(1)

Perhaps the implications of that etymological statement could unveil our haste in responding to debt. After all, indebtedness is uncomfortable, isn't it? To be rid of it is liberating, whereas, gratitude asks much more of us. Our sense of indebtedness lingers in a state of being thankful.

Now, you can return a favor and still experience gratitude for the favor given you. But you can also return a favor simply to reciprocate, to mindlessly remove that feeling of indebtedness. In fact, one psychology class carried out a revealing experiment on this subject. The professor sent Christmas cards to a large list of complete strangers to test the Rule of Reciprocation. The response was astounding. Cards came pouring back to him, all from people he had never met, the vast majority never even inquiring into the identity of the unknown sender! They simply received his card, and automatically sent one in return.

What about the sense of obligation in your own life? Are you uncomfortable with indebtedness? I ask because there will be times in life when there is no fitting response to indebtedness. What happens when you find there is no fitting response to the gift or the giver? What will happen when you simply can't reciprocate?

Quite simply, you respond with gratitude. We come into the presence of the giver with thanksgiving and we are changed by the gift. And when the giver is Christ, freely submitting to death for a debt that was not his own but ours, how then do we respond? I believe the old hymn offers much wisdom:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head,

For such a worm as I?

Thus might I hide my blushing face,

While His dear cross appears,

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,

And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay,

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give my self away,

’Tis all that I can do.

Let us this day find our hearts dissolved in thankfulness as we recall the undeserved gift of Christ. For it is gratitude that sees this sacred debt for which there is no reciprocating and with devotion says, “Here I am, my Lord and my God. I am yours.”

________

1. Robert Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice. (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001), 20.

________

Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Amid the darkness of the Thirty Years' War, German pastor Martin Rinkart is said to have buried nearly five thousand fellow citizens and parishioners in one year, including his young wife. Conducting as many as 50 funerals a day, Rinkart's church was absolutely ravaged by war and plague, famine and economic disaster. Yet in the midst of that dark year [1637], he sat down with his children and wrote the following lines as a prayer for the dinner table:

Now thank we all our God

With heart and hands and voices;

Who wondrous things hath done,

In Whom His world rejoices.

Who, from our mother's arms,

Hath led us on our way

With countless gifts of love

And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God

through all our life be near us,

With ever joyful hearts

and blessed peace to cheer us;

And keep us still in grace,

and guide us when perplexed;

And free us from all ills,

in this world and the next.

In the midst of such gloom, Rinkart's expressions of thankfulness seem either incredibly foolish or wonderfully important. Standing on a wholly biblical truth, Rinkart saw the certainty of God and the significance of thanksgiving. He saw that to be thankful in all things is to make the bold confession that encountering the presence and glory of God far outweighs everything we encounter in this life, whether a matter of despair or delight. Amidst the heaviness of darkness, he saw the wisdom in fixing his gaze on what he could not see?he light of the Gospel, the life of Christ, the eternal weight of the glory of God.

The Apostle Paul has written, “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

It is interesting to note that the general Greek word for “glory” used in secular writing took a different shape in the New Testament. The word was particularly influenced by its Hebrew counterpart meaning “weighted” or “heavy,” and hence, denoting something of honor and importance. The word “doxology,” referring to an expression of praise, comes from the same Greek word. The etymology is fascinating because the word itself seems to cry out for comparison. Will the things in which I have given most honor, the things in which I have set my gaze, always measure up? Under the heaviness of life, what weight does the hope I profess carry?

Paul proclaims the eternal weightiness of his hope in Christ as Lord, adding powerfully, “for it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). It is the God who first spoke light into darkness, who made light to shine in the darkness of Christ's grave, and this inextinguishable light of Christ now shines in our hearts. It is this God of intrinsic glory whose reign is eternal, whose face we know, and in whom we know light and life itself.

Martin Rinkart's simple table grace was later made into a powerful hymn and sung at a celebration service at the war's end. Adding a third stanza, Rinkart's words continue with thanksgiving, concluding fittingly with words of doxology, words proclaiming the weightiness of the glory of God.

All praise and thanks to God

the Father now be given;

The Son and Him Who reigns

with Them in highest heaven;

The one eternal God,

Whom earth and heaven adore;

For thus it was, is now,

and shall be evermore.

Let us therefore fix our gaze upon the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God, increasing in thanksgiving to the glory of God.

__________

Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

============================================

Version by Brett Blair, Nov. 2004, http://www.esermons.com:

Martin Rinkart was a minister in the little town of Eilenburg in Germany some 350 years ago. He was the son of a poor coppersmith, but somehow, he managed to work his way through an education. Finally, in the year 1617, he was offered the post of Archdeacon in his hometown parish. A year later, what has come to be known as the Thirty-Years-War broke out. His town was caught right in the middle. In 1637, the massive plague that swept across the continent hit Eilenburg... people died at the rate of fifty a day and the man called upon to bury most of them was Martin Rinkart. In all, over 8,000 people died, including Martin's own wife. His labors finally came to an end about 11 years later, just one year after the conclusion of the war. His ministry spanned 32 years, all but the first and the last overwhelmed by the great conflict that engulfed his town. Tough circumstances in which to be thankful. But he managed. And he wrote these words:

Now thank we all our God

With heart and hands and voices;

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom his world rejoices.

It takes a magnificent spirit to come through such hardship and express gratitude. Here is a great lesson. Surrounded by tremendous adversity, thanksgiving will deliver you...with heart and hand and voices.

*

As with many aspects of American society, Thanksgiving dinner just wouldn’t be complete without a healthy helping of guilt. In the spirit of Thanksgiving excess and abundance, PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] has cooked up another accusation to stir our consciousness: capital punishment of turkeys.

Inspired by the annual Thanksgiving tradition in which the President pardons two turkeys in the Rose Garden, PETA has called upon all Americans to pardon turkeys from their Thanksgiving meals this year. Among its campaign tools are billboards with the President’s face and a turkey, displaying the question, “If he can pardon one, won’t you?” and a “Pardon Me!” print ad in which turkeys plead for a stay of execution. The print ad details the “cruel and unusual” treatment turkeys experience on the farm prior to execution, along with the appeal, “We won’t have to walk the green mile if you make it a green menu.”

The campaign is no less than what we have come to expect from the same group that demands PETCO stop selling pets, accuses Girl Scouts of torturing and murdering beavers, and is pushing for legislation to ban animal acts from circuses. Loyal supporters must check PETA’s boycott list daily to prevent the shame and humiliation of inadvertently supporting such alleged animal-haters as Procter & Gamble, Vogue and the March of Dimes.

If PETA’s pardon proposal appears a bit devoid of Thanksgiving custom, consider its campaign to replace Pamplona’s “running of the bulls” with a “humans-only race” (what the rest of us might just call “running”). Unlike turkeys and bulls, apparently tradition and culture are not endangered enough to warrant PETA’s preservation efforts.

Admittedly, PETA does not call for the elimination of the turkey from Thanksgiving celebrations, but merely from the dinner table. PETA offers a host of recipes for undoubtedly delectable dishes to replace the traditional Thanksgiving fare, including Tofurky, UnTurkey and Tofu Turkey, a helping of tofu prepared as a silhouette of a turkey. Its Web site features the Thanksgiving E-cards “Don’t Eat the Mascot” and “Happy Tofurky Day,” along with a selection of children’s books teaching about compassion toward the turkey.

Despite PETA’s valiant attempts to market its pardoning campaign as “compassionate conservatism,” the contemplated elimination of this two-hundred-year-old tradition [actually, it could be considered a 380-year-old tradition] won’t sit well at most Thanksgiving tables. For starters, many of us fear where such campaigns will lead. The cruel conditions under which chickens are forced to lay Easter eggs and the systematic execution of Christmas trees must surely be re-examined next. Others among us will freely admit that our compassion goes only so far, and the excesses of PETA fall outside that threshold. Or perhaps it is finally proof that even Americans have a limit to how much guilt we can sustain.

Unfortunately, I, like the majority of non-turkey-farming Americans, do not have it in my power to grant such a stay of execution this year. But as long as turkeys must suffer their inevitable fate, I will do my part to ensure it did not die in vain by making it the guest of honor at my Thanksgiving celebration. And though my complicity in the crime of its death will inevitably weigh heavy on my heart, at least I can be thankful that at my table, we still politely pass on the Tofurky.

__________

Erin Murphy is a student at Georgetown University Law Center and an intern at the Center for Individual Freedom.

*

1. Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy

From Thy gracious throne above;

Thanks for ev’ry need provided

From the fullness of Thy love.

Thanks for daily toil and labour

And for rest when shadows fall;

Thanks for love of friend and neighbour

And Thy goodness unto all.

2. Thanks for thorns as well as roses,

Thanks for weakness and for health;

Thanks for clouds as well as sunshine,

Thanks for poverty and wealth.

Thanks for pain as well as pleasure–

All Thou sendest day by day;

And Thy Word, our dearest treasure,

Shedding light upon our way.

3. Thanks, O God, for home and fireside,

Where we share our daily bread;

Thanks for hours of sweet communion,

When by Thee our souls are fed.

Thanks for grace in time of sorrow

And for joy and peace in Thee;

Thanks for hope today, tomorrow,

And for all eternity.

[Tune “Hultman”]

Author George MacDonald’s definition of the “careless soul” is a description that confronts me. It is a careless soul, he explains, who receives good things as if they simply had a way of dropping into his hands, yet ever complaining, holds someone accountable for the setbacks he meets along the way. Writes MacDonald, “For the good that comes to him, he gives no thanks — who is there to thank? At the disappointments that befall him he grumbles — there must be someone to blame!”(1)

Whether an atheist denying the existence of God, or a believer overlooking the blessings of God, the contradiction is obvious, even as it is unabashedly ignored. To overlook the good in our lives is to state that there is no one to thank. To grumble is to emphatically declare that there is someone to hold responsible. Which will it be?

It is interesting that we teach our children to be thankful and not to complain; we advise them not to overlook the many blessings in their lives. But why do we want our children to observe something we struggle to explain away? To be thankful is to recognize that the blessing is bigger than me, that there is something or someone working beyond me. Isn’t the one who is thankful for the tree’s shade, also thankful for the one who planted it? What of the One who made it?

The countless hints of kindness that surround us in moments of beauty, glimpses of order, and felt provision are rumors that tell us we are not alone; we are not orphans or nomads roaming the earth. A grateful soul is widened to wonder as it follows the sunbeam up to the sun. It is possible, with practice, to see only the beam of light and not the source that offers it. But a thankful heart, reminds A.W. Tozer, struggles to find room for cynicism, for “there is, in all things, Someone greater to thank.”

Reverend Billy Graham writes of theologian Matthew Henry who at an old age was mugged on the street corner. That night Henry wrote in his diary, “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”(2) I wonder what I would have written in my diary. What might you have penned in yours?

Hear the commanding and yet inviting words of Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (103:2-5). Throughout the Psalms we are reminded to give thanks and praise to God. Here, the psalmist reminds us to remind ourselves why. Remember again and again the things He has done; forget not all his benefits. Speak of his kindness, speak of his provision, remember the moments when He has mightily touched your life with redemption and mercy. It is wise to do so, for there is someone to thank.

Even Jesus rolling away the stone of Lazarus’ tomb gave thanks to God for the miracle He would perform in the motionless heart of Lazarus, and in the hearts of those watching. To be thankful is to keep our eyes, hearts, and minds upon the giver of life. He has crowned us with much, let us be careful to crown Him Lord.

________

1. George MacDonald, An Anthology (San Francisco: Harper, 1946), 84.

2. Billy Graham, Unto the Hills (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 411.

________

Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

======================

Version from 11/27/06:

Author George MacDonald’s definition of the “careless soul” is a description that confronts me. It is a careless soul, he explains, who receives good things as if they simply had a way of dropping into his hands, yet ever complaining, holds someone accountable for the setbacks he meets along the way. Writes MacDonald, “For the good that comes to him, he gives no thanks -- who is there to thank? At the disappointments that befall him he grumbles -- there must be someone to blame!”(1)

Whether an atheist denying the existence of God, or a believer overlooking the blessings of God, the contradiction is obvious, even as it is unabashedly ignored. To overlook the good in our lives is to state that there is no one to thank. To grumble is to emphatically declare that there is someone to hold responsible. But which will it be?

It is interesting that we teach our children to be thankful and not to complain; we advise them not to overlook the many blessings in their lives. But why do we want our children to observe something we struggle to explain away? To be thankful is to recognize that the blessing is bigger than me, that there is something or SOMEONE working beyond me. Isn’t the one who is thankful for the tree’s shade, also thankful for the one who planted it? What, then, of the one who made it?

The countless hints of kindness that surround us in moments of beauty, glimpses of order, and felt provision are rumors that tell us we are not alone. We are not orphans or nomads roaming the earth. A grateful soul is widened to wonder as it follows the sunbeam up to the sun. It is possible, with practice, to see only the beam of light and not the source that offers it. But a thankful heart, reminds A.W. Tozer, struggles to find room for cynicism, for “there is, in all things, someone greater to thank.”

Reverend Billy Graham writes of theologian Matthew Henry who at an old age was mugged on the street corner. That night Henry wrote in his diary, “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”(2) I’m not sure I would have written anything close to this in my diary. What might you have penned in yours?

Hear the commanding and yet inviting words of Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (103:2-5). Throughout the Psalms we are reminded to give thanks and praise to God. Here, the psalmist reminds us to remind ourselves WHY: Remember again and again the things He has done; forget not all his benefits. Speak of his kindness, speak of his provision, remember the moments when He has mightily touched your life with redemption and mercy. It is wise to do so, for there is someone to thank.

Even Jesus rolling away the stone of Lazarus’s tomb gave thanks to God for the miracle He would perform in the motionless heart of Lazarus and in the hearts of those watching. To be thankful is to keep our eyes, hearts, and minds upon the giver of life. He has crowned us with much, let us be careful to crown Him Lord.

________

1. George MacDonald, AN ANTHOLOGY (San Francisco: Harper, 1946), 84.

2. Billy Graham, UNTO THE HILLS (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 411.

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Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.