"Gratitide is the attitude that sets the altitude for living." -Pastor James MacDonald
Thanksgiving...
Not just "Turkey Until Your Belt Comes Off" Day
It's "Count Your Blessings" Day
"Put Down the Phone and Spend Time Together" Day
According to Merriam Webster it's:
- a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness
- the act of giving thanks
- a prayer expressing gratitude
And to the Cambridge Dictionary:
- the act of saying or showing that you are grateful, especially to God
Just like Oxford:
- The expression of gratitude, especially to God
By definition we give thanks to God, to one who is beyond ourselves and giver of all things.
What does God's word have to say?
- Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2
- I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord , proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
Psalms 26:6-7 - But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.Psalms 69:29-30
- Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:4 - The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
Psalms 147:6-7 - Oh come, let us sing to the Lord ; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalms 95:1-3 - But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord !"
Jonah 2:9
(FYI-sacrifice is not just slaying your own ox and lighting it on fire. Think more practical) - For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving...1 Timothy 4:4
- Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The list goes on and on.
No matter if you're in a season of praise or doubt, plenty or sacrifice, we are made to give thanks. For every joy and every sorrow means that you are blessed with breath. Gratitude is the ultimate holistic remedy to anxiety and heartache, and with it our minds and intentions are set right. It plants peace in our souls in a way that is beyond reason. Stirs up healing. Cultivates strength.
This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for the salvation and redemption of the living God.
For steadfast love and unfailing grace.
For my family and friends and endless supports.
For a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food on my children's plates.
For celebrating with my loved ones today instead of a hospital wing like I've done too many times before.
Despite all that's going on in my life right now, challenge and strife, I have thanks in my heart. Today, that's enough.
