We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,—Colossians 1:3
Thanksgiving Day, made a national holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln celebrates the feast the Pilgrims held after their first successful corn harvest in 1621. What many Americans fail to remember is that Thanksgiving is not just about being thankful—it’s about being thankful to the one true God.
One of the Pilgrims, Edward Winslow, wrote a letter before the feast to let a friend know of the successful harvest, and he had this to say: “These things I thought good to let you understand... that you might on our behalf give God thanks who had dealt so favourably with us.”
There is an ongoing deliberate attempt to secularize American holidays, so many of which were established with the sole purpose of praising our Lord and Saviour. This Thanksgiving, before we settle down to relax, let us be the beacon of light for our friends and families and remind everyone we know of the true reason for Thanksgiving—saying thank you to God for all the good things He has done for each and every one of us.
The Bible reiterates the importance of giving thanks all throughout Scripture.
First, we should be thankful for our salvation in Jesus Christ. If all the world as we know it ceased this very moment, and all you had was Jesus, that would be enough.
Second, we should be thankful for the countless blessings that God has undeservedly bestowed on us. As born sinners, God has mercifully given us far more than we deserve, and for that we ought to praise His name continually.
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.—1 Chronicles 16:8
Third, we should be thankful simply because He commands us to be. God, Who so loved us when we were yet in our sin, gives the command in Psalm 100 to, “Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
Not only does God command us to be grateful people, but He also condemns unthankfulness as sin that we will see in the last days: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:2). We are clearly seeing unthankful spirits in America today, and we need to train believers the importance of being thankful.
As you pray and give thanks to the Lord this season, ask Him for a renewed sense of thanksgiving.