The fourth Thursday of November is the United States holiday of Thanksgiving. The origin of the holiday remembers a harvest feast around 1620 between the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe. The Pilgrims started the first successful long-term settlement in the New World. What actually happened is obscured but the fog of time. But the point of the holiday isn’t Wampanoag or the Pilgrims, but it is the giving of thanks to God and others.
In 1863, during America’s bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing the holiday. His proclamation begins, “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”
The Bible says, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17, NLT) The giving of thanks should be a major part of our prayers. We often concentrate our prayer time on our worries, concerns, needs, and struggles – And God welcomes those prayers. But we are also instructed throughout the Word of God to express our thanksgiving to Him. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4, NLT)
Giving thanks lifts God up and lifts us up. Through thanksgiving, we can look beyond our circumstances and see the greatness of God and His love for us in Jesus Christ. Thankfulness is like a furnace that releases the gold hidden in a rock. Our circumstances may or may not change, but our attitude, our vision, our hope, and our love are released and renewed through the simplicity of speaking thanks to God.
To that end, I invite you to share your thanksgiving to God with us. You can do so by using this link – https://lambchow.com/may-we-pray-for-you/. I intend to compile them into an upcoming post to share with all Lambchow readers. Names and locations will not be included in that post, just the expression of thanks. If you do not want your thanksgiving statement published, please include something to the effect of “do not publish” or “keep private.”
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