The Giving Of Thanks

Thanksgiving...

... President George Washington first proclaimed it as a national holiday in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God".

Some might think that the idea of a Thanksgiving feast only began with the Pilgrims who came to America in the 1600s, but if they did, they might consider looking a little deeper. For example ...

"The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day he offers it; none of it may be left until morning." Leviticus 7:15 (NLT)

As with all holidays these days, if there's some religious attachment to it, there seems to be a bent toward drowning it in rich secular secular gravy. That's to be expected in this world given the spiritual forces warring against us, but as followers of Christ and deep believers of God's word, we're not dissuaded from taking those opportunities given us to observe what God has done with particular focus ... ... are we?

My mother, gone from me now, observed the Thanksgiving holiday with a heightened sense of reverent gratitude and humility. It wasn't simply another day given to revelry for the sake of secular human causes, but a deeply held and accentuated observance of God's provision and grace that produced in her an awe of thankfulness that seemed clearly to emanate from the depths of her heart. Whatever might have been going on around her, I came to know and understand what was going on inside of her at the same time as Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving came and went. For her, it was an accentuated opportunity to offer her thanks to her Heavenly Father with an inner passion, gratitude and humility similar to some others who've traveled the same path before her...

"Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care."  Psalm 95:1-7 (NLT)

Because I inherited from her example, that same passion, gratitude and humility before God -for who He is and what He's done, I struggle at every holiday that we hold to dear to avoid bristling with indignation against secular dilution of the observance and take care in my own heart to guard against allowing the heart of my own true observance to become lost. Take "Thanksgiving" for example: If the giving of thanks is actually the reason for the observance - are thanks actually being given? And if they are being given, who are thanks being given to? - The stuffing, cranberries, or maybe the turkey or some other false god? It creates an opportunity for a little jealous indignation to rise up because I know the origin of all providence and I know to whom endless thanks belong ... but if I allow indignation much space, I will have tainted my own observance and offering.

"So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:15-20 (NLT)

So what am I to do? I'll do as I've long attempted to do. I'll follow the example my mother blessed me with - taking the opportunity to celebrate our God in sincerity in my own heart while observing the truth - remembering His provision of even the simplest of things that I might otherwise take for granted and giving thanks for them from a truly grateful heart. And as my mother's example spoke to me, I'll be praying that my own example and true observance may find a way to speak to the hearts of those around me about the true "giving of thanks".

"No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NLT)