Here in the U.S., we're celebrating Thanksgiving this week. While it's an American holiday with emphasis on a huge family meal and football, the idea of setting aside time to reflect and give thanks and praise to the Lord is pretty biblical!
No matter when you pause to celebrate his goodness, I find that these words from Psalms help focus my heart toward gratitude.
Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good,
His faithful love endures forever.
Has the LORD redeemed you?
Then speak out!
Thanksgiving looks different for many people this year. Maybe you're unable to travel to be with family members you would normally visit. Maybe you're grieving for absences that can't be filled by any amount of traveling or broken relationships that make gatherings more painful than joyful. Or maybe, like me, you're just weary of asking, "How long, O Lord?"
But that's the thing about giving thanks. While we count our blessings, we sometimes forget that gratitude isn't context dependent. The psalmist doesn't say, "Give thanks to the LORD, for we have all we want!" or even, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he's blessed us a lot!" (And both may have been true!)
Thanksgiving has very little to do with us, where we are, or what we have.
It has everything to do with who God is.
Read it again.
Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
His faithful love endures forever.
God's goodness and love never change, never fail, never run out or remain distant (socially or otherwise.) That's why the prophet Habakkuk can say:
Why would Habakkuk rejoice in these circumstances? How could he possibly be joyful?
Because he knew that his God was still the same. As a prophet, he had heard this truth straight from God himself!
And so do we.
We know the same truth from God's Word. The same God -- the one King David praised and Habakkuk trusted -- speaks to us too.
So although Thanksgiving may not look or feel the way we want it to, we have plenty of reason to give thanks! Even as we grieve, feel sorrow, and earnestly yearn for the peace of God's kingdom, we know that peace is coming. We know that in our sorrow, God is still good and his love is still true. As the preschool song says, "the Bible tells me so!"
Take some time to thank God for the gift of his Word - that it speaks to you with its patient reminder of who he is. Thank God for those who worked to translate that Bible into your language, whether recently or centuries ago. Thank God for raising up teams of workers around the globe to bring that truth to more people who need it.
And thank you for being here in prayer and support. I'm grateful to rejoice in the Lord's goodness with you this week and always!
Has the LORD redeemed you?
Then speak out!
Until All Have Heard,
Angela
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