Anticipating Thanksgiving
But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6.
In Ephesians 2:11, Paul encourages believers to REMEMBER who they were prior to Christ’s work of reconciliation. We were as far away as possible from God’s grace (Ephesians 2:11-13). We had no intrinsic merit of our own that would have moved God to save us.
Thanksgiving in the past was for the purpose of thanking God. In 1789, President George Washington set Thursday the 26th aside as a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer, devoted to the service of that great and glorious Being Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed:
“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. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
Now to throw a monkey wrench into the fire, we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving in a nation that has turned from God. As a nation, we are finding new ways constantly to disobey God. Moreover, there is a strong atheistic element that fails to even recognize God’s existence.
Add to this the incredible atrocities that are happening in our world and the human suffering that is taking place because of Hamas and other similar groups, disease, earthquakes and weather related tragedies. Some are asking, “Where is God in all of this?” I would question their point of reference since so many live as though God does not even exist.
However, the answer is simple — He is right here with those who love Him (John 14:21) and He continues to reign over our world, though He does not force mankind to love Him or follow His ways. His Word is clear concerning the direction of mankind when His ways are not followed.
- God’s people can find strength and comfort amid atrocities and troubles of all kinds because our existence is not limited to our time in this world. Through talking with God in prayer, there comes a sense of peace and comfort, something that reminds us that God loves us and all is well. This is so clearly expressed in the hymn we often sing, “It Is Well With My Soul.”
- The atrocities themselves are used of God to assist us in seeing the great needs in our world and to awaken us from the sin of apathy.
- Troubles themselves can be a means of God’s children finding their way to their eternal home in glory. It is the survivors who are faced with the evils of our world.
- They provide another opportunity for God’s children to share their faith with others which have no eternal hope.
- They tend to motivate believers to draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ, to become more dependent on His leadership in our lives. The closer our relationship is to Him, the more all these things will provide some meaning, especially as we recognize that we indeed are living in perilous times (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Regardless of what is happening around us at any given time, we are still commanded to give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
There is always something good that comes out of every circumstance of life. The key, of course, is to be close enough to the Lord to discern that good. Not only would it make us more thankful, but it would assist us in seeing all of life from God’s perspective instead of ours. Solomon wrote, I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
This thanksgiving ought to be a little different because of the circumstances currently taking place in our world. First, there ought to be THANKSGIVING for God’s goodness to us and for a nation that stills allows us to worship God without the fear of hostile intervention. Remember the desperate situation that was yours before Christ came into your life and thank God for sending His Son to die on Calvary’s Cross on your behalf. Pray for those who have suffered because of Hamas and other terrorist groups. Pray that many in the middle of these trials will turn to Christ, the only source of hope in a troubled world.
George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC. See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.