Read: Psalm 100
Today, millions of families across the country will come together and celebrate one of the most iconic meals of the year: Thanksgiving dinner. There will be turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Some people (myself not included) will even enjoy a little bit of the cylindrical cranberry sauce that makes the rounds this time of year. We will eat until we can’t possibly eat anymore (which is basically what we do every other day of the year…it just has special meaning today…).
Yep, the glory of Thanksgiving is all around us.
Though the Thanksgiving celebration was celebrated for years beforehand, it was not officially recognized as an annual national holiday until 1863. That year, right in the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared that the nation should set aside a day to remember all of God’s blessings. Even in the midst of the bloodiest conflict the United States had ever seen, President Lincoln believed we needed to take time to give thanks. In fact, here’s what he said in his Proclamation of Thanksgiving:
“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. In the midst of a…war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict…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.”
Certainly, today is a day for getting together and celebrating with our family and friends. Each one of us has Thanksgiving traditions that we cherish. Those are not bad things. Yet, we must remember that today, first and foremost, is a day about giving thanks to God. While there’s no doubt that we should thank God for His goodness everyday, today gives us a special opportunity to show Him our gratitude and our love.
As we celebrate this day of thanks, we would do well to look through the book of Psalms. Throughout its pages, we see what it means to truly worship God for what He’s done on our behalf. As we saw on Tuesday, the book of Psalms is full of references to giving thanks and bringing our thanksgiving before the throne of God. Consider these verses:
Psalm 69:30: “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.”
Psalm 95:1-2: “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”
Psalm 7:17: “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”
Psalm 30:11-12: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
Psalm 75:1: “We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.”
Psalm 105:1-2: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.”
Psalm 107:21-22: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of His works with songs of joy.”
Psalm 118:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His love endures forever.”
God is great. He has done great things for us. What’s more, He is going to continue to do great things for us. In light of that, He deserves our thanksgiving. Today, let’s be sure that we’re giving Him the praise He deserves.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Questions to Consider:
What do you have to be thankful for? How can you give God thanks today?
Read Psalm 136:1-3. What is the ultimate reason we have to give thanks to God?