Thanks, God!

November 21, 2022

What an incredible holiday! This Thursday is Thanksgiving, one of the most Christian holidays on the calendar. Christmas is a religious celebration, but has strayed from its original focus to an emphasis on Santa Claus and gift giving. Easter celebrants are distracted by the Easter bunny, colored eggs, and chocolate. Thanksgiving, though, is still focused on giving thanks to God.

We give thanks for our many blessings, whether they are material things, family, or just surviving hardship. Any thanks must be pointed in a particular direction. There is no such thing as a ‘general thanks.’ Giving thanks is toward whomever is responsible. Thanksgiving Day is for thanking God.

As we look around, we notice the amazing wonder of creation. We see family and friends that God has provided us with. We thank God for the freedoms we, in this country, are provided.

Today I especially want to thank God for ‘chance’ encounters. Many of us met the person we eventually married by being at the right place at the right time. When we think back on why we were both there, we realize that the path to that ‘chance encounter’ began weeks or years before. Sometimes it’s a job that materialized for us by being at a particular place at a particular time. Only God could have managed all the details.

I don’t believe in luck, as if it were some powerful unseen deity. I believe in God’s ability to make all the pieces of our lives fit together accurately, according to a divine plan. When it all works, I need to thank God.

Of course, God is not only due our thanksgiving on one day each year. He is worthy, every single day. The least we can do is make Thanksgiving a glorious day of praising God. Don’t let anything crowd it out.

“For we know that all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” Romans 6:28.