Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the time of the year when families come together and share a meal, being thankful for one another, sharing lots of laughter, and spending quality time together. It is always a time of the year where things seem to calm down from all the hustle and bustle of the “busy-ness” of life. Here in Florida, the weather starts to get enjoyable. It gets a little cooler, making spending time outside very pleasant. Personally, it is my favorite time of the year.
One of the many family traditions I have heard about on thanksgiving is people sitting around a table and sharing something that they are thankful for that year. For some this can be a little difficult, because they might have been through some challenging times andare struggling to recognize things to be thankful for.
Over the years of being involved in ministry, I have learned quite a few things, but one thing that stands out to me, is from all the things I can be thankful for, I am most thankful for the Lord in my life. I am so grateful for everything He has done for me. You might have heard some people say “I am grateful to God”, and you might have wondered, what on earth are you grateful to God for?
Let me tell you.
Firstly, and most importantly, I am grateful for my salvation. The fact that Jesus gave His life to save me, and, therefore, I have life, and life eternal should be enough reason to shout my gratefulness from the rooftops. This is one of so many things I am grateful for;truly there is not enough paper to write about everything else. I want to share one of the scriptures that I live by.
The Bible tells us:
Psalm 100:4–5 (NKJV)
4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
In this verse alone there are three things that we can be thankful for to God:
1.God is good: He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know I can trust Him. I can rely on Him. All His promises in the bible are available to me. He is my Protector, my Savior, my Counselor, my Healer, my Deliverer, my Prince of Peace, and my best Friend.
2. His mercy endures forever: How can you not be grateful for His mercy? We need His mercy. I am thankful for His mercy, and for His grace.
3. His truth is everlasting. In a changing world, and with so many cultural changes the one place we can find stability and truth, is in His Word.
As you can see from just this one verse in the bible, we have so much to be thankful to God for.
So let me encourage you, this year while you are thankful for so many things, or if you can’t find anything to be thankful for, make sure that you don’t forget, to give thanks to the One Who gave it all.
Many blessings this thanksgiving.
