Give Thanks

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever!”  Psalm 118:1

Come tomorrow, families around the nation will gather at a table piled high with turkey and trimmings, fill their bellies to the brim, push back proclaiming, “I can’t eat another bite,” and yet somehow find a way (not too long later) to consume just one more piece of homemade pie!   We call it Thanksgiving.

But Thanksgiving is much more than a big feast during a fall month. Thanksgiving is pausing our normal activities to express special gratitude to God for who He is and what He does.  Giving thanks is first mentioned in scripture in the Law, where God gave guidelines for the offerings of gratitude He desired His people to bring.  The “thank offering” was not commanded, for required gratitude is not real gratitude.  Instead, the offering was voluntary—the joyful response of a willing heart wanting to express thanks to the Giver of all good things. 

Gratitude has been a hallmark of God’s people through the ages.  When Solomon’s temple was filled with God’s presence, the people gave thanks.  When an enemy came to attack Judah, Jehosaphat’s army marched to meet them giving thanks.  Nehemiah’s choirs gave thanks after the people finished rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, and Daniel gave thanks when God revealed to him the dream of the king.  Years later, knowing he was disobeying man’s decree, Daniel continued praying to the one true God, giving thanks three times a day, as he had always done. The Samaritan leper returned to say thank you to Jesus after he and nine buddies had been healed, and a young lad watched in amazement as Jesus lifted his little lunch to heaven, gave thanks, and fed thousands with his midday snack.

These examples give us many reasons to be thankful.  God is with us. God is for us. He protects us. He provides for us. He helps us. He heals us. He knows us. He loves us. And He takes the little we have and makes it much. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  His love endures forever!”(Ps 118:1)

We mark our thanksgiving with a meal because our Pilgrim forefathers did the same.  102 Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth on the Mayflower, but forty-seven died during the brutal first winter, leaving only three families intact.  As spring arrived, so did Squanto, a divinely-equipped Patuxet Indian who taught the Pilgrims how to survive in their new land.  After an abundant harvest, the people prepared a feast, invited the local Indian chief (who brought ninety extra guests), and celebrated God’s goodness for three full days.  The next fall they invited him back for another party, but, besides the bounty of the harvest, each plate held five kernels of corn, a reminder of their winter rations, yet not one had died of starvation.

It is only appropriate we eat at Thanksgiving, for it was at Passover, the annual Jewish meal of remembrance and gratitude, when Jesus stood, gave thanks, broke bread, and said, “This is my body which is broken for you”(Lk 22:19).  As you give thanks tomorrow, start there.  The reality of who God is shows up best in the sacrifice of Himself.  Because of the blood-stained cross and the empty tomb, we can give thanks in all circumstances for nothing can separate us from His love and from His life.  With gratitude, we can join the chorus started by the apostle, John, “From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another”(Jn 1:16).

This year, more than ever and more fully than ever, give thanks.

The "Need To Know: Basics

“I thank and praise you, O God…You have made known to us the dream of the king.”  Daniel 2:23

Monday.  7:48 AM.  You’ve just set down your coffee and turned on your computer when the head of company security steps in your office to say, “You’re fired.”  “For what?!” you ask in astonishment.  Seems as though the boss had an idea over the weekend and at an early morning business meeting demanded that regional directors to tell him what his idea was and how it could be used or else they would be fired.  Their pleas for him to first share his idea were met with harsh accusations of company conspiracy, and their complaints of unfairness had garnered immediate dismissal for all in their divisions.  Shocked, stunned, and trying to save your job, you go to the boss and request time to think of his idea and its implementation. 

While this seems an unlikely business scenario for today, the situation was stark reality for Daniel and his three best friends.  The difference was that their boss wasn’t merely a CEO; he was Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king in the world.  This king didn’t want his workers just to guess an idea; he wanted the royal wise men to tell and interpret his nightmare of the previous evening, and the consequence for failure wasn’t losing their jobs, it was losing their lives.  Nebuchadnezzar’s demands weren’t fair, but they were final.  

After Daniel’s request for a deadline extension was granted by the king, he “returned to his house, explained the matter to his friends and urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery”(Dan 2:18).  They all hit their knees and cried out in desperation, and during the night, the dream was revealed to Daniel in a divine vision.  

But before he told the king, he thanked God.  “Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: ‘I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers:  You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king’”(Dan 2:23). Even with his life on the line, Daniel took time to give thanks.

When life seems a mystery, hit your knees and cry to heaven.  Pray diligently.  Plead desperately.  The One who knows all will reveal all you need to know.

Life isn’t always fair, but God is always faithful.

Give thanks.

No DIY Projects

 “The God of heaven will give us success.”  Nehemiah 2:20 

Under the cover of darkness, Nehemiah guided his horse through the Valley Gate and turned east.  Even at night, the sad state of Jerusalem’s walls could be clearly seen.  Piles of rubble lay where it had fallen over a century before during Babylon’s brutal conquest of the Jewish capital.  Though the smoke had long cleared, charred ruins of the city’s gates still remained on the ground.  Nehemiah’s moonlight survey visibly confirmed the troubling reports he had previously received.  

He had arrived in town only three days earlier.  Driven by holy desire to restore Jerusalem, Nehemiah had courageously requested leave from his position as cupbearer to the Persian king and had asked for royal letters granting safety and supplies.  The few citizens of the devastated city needed someone to come to their aid.  Without walls to provide protection, security, and identity, they lived in constant danger and disgrace, and little came easy as they tried to piece back together their own lives and their nation’s legacy.

The need was obvious, and the right project manager had come to take on the task.  Nehemiah assembled the people and assigned duties.  “Eliahib the high priests and his fellow priests went to work to rebuild the Sheep Gate…Uzziel, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section of the wall; and Hanahiah, of the perfumers, made repairs next to that.  Shallum repaired the next section with the help of his daughters”(Neh 3).  

As the people stepped in to help, opposition stepped up to harm.  Nearby Gentile officials began to ridicule and misrepresent the work.  They accused Nehemiah of leading a rebellion and plotting a revolt.  Instead of taking time to retaliate, Nehemiah “prayed to God and posted a guard”(Neh 4:9).  He reminded the people of God’s great power, and they “did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other”(Neh 4:17).

In only fifty-two days, the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt.  At the dedication ceremony, two large choirs gathered to “celebrate joyfully with songs of thanksgiving”(Neh 12:27).  Though completed by His people, the project had been God’s plan from start to finish.  Much gratitude was due the One who had moved the heart of His servant, guided the response of the king, and supplied strength and safety for the workers.  Small wonder both choirs were big.  

When work needs to be done, step in boldly.  Find some friends who’ll join you.  Don’t quit when times get tough.  And don’t let distractions slow you down.  When the project is complete, you don’t have to call a choir, but take the time to say thank you to the One who helped you get through it and helped you get through with it.  

Because the blueprint of our lives has been drawn up by the Master Designer, no project ever has to be Do-It-Yourself.

Give thanks.