“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. Psalms 136:1
In America, Thanksgiving is a national holiday. It begins the holiday season, leading up to Christmas and New Years. Thanksgiving has an interesting history grounded in the faith of our fathers who came to our land in 1620. Most of you know the story of the Pilgrims landing in Massachusetts after a harrowing trip across the Atlanta Ocean in the Mayflower. They came to escape religious persecution and establish a colony in the “new world.” William Bradford was the leader and on that grueling journey, his wife lost her life at sea.
In 1623, Governor Bradford issued a proclamation establishing a day of Thanksgiving. In this proclamation, he declared, “Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forest to abound with game, and the sea with fish and clams, He has protected us from the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease and granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience.” On that basis, he proclaimed November 25, 1623, a day for “rendering Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings.” That’s how our nation began, as a nation blessed by Almighty God. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for his inheritance,” Psalms 33:12
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln established a national day of Thanksgiving on the fourth Tuesday of November. In the middle of the Civil War, the President prayed, “I do, 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 Tuesday of November as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” The date was later changed to Thursday. President Lincoln went on to say, “No human counsel has 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 for our sins, hath remembered mercy.”
What about giving thanks to God for our food in a public area? Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as he was to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited him to have a seat, then as was his custom, he bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, “Do you have a headache?” Ironside replied, “No, I don’t.” The other man asked, “Well, is there something wrong with your food?” Ironside replied, “No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat.” The man said, “Oh, you’re one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!” Ironside said, “Yes, you’re just like my dog. That’s what he does too!” “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
As we sit down to our bountiful meals at Thanksgiving, let us remember “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father,“ James 1:7. Give thanks to the Lord!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Your friend, Jean