Thank who?

Isn’t it odd that the day after we are supposed to stop what we normally do to reflect on what is right and good in our lives and to give thanks for all that we enjoy, that we dash out in a crazy frenzy to get more stuff, usually with money we don’t have, for people we don’t spend much time with?

Instead of making the most of a time to slow down and relax, our brains are in overdrive. What fantastic deals await us? How low will the prices go? How early must I get there? Or, maybe we are thinking I can’t believe I have to go to work at midnight on Thanksgiving!

“It’s The World’s Gone Crazy” is a song made popular by Waylon Jennings years ago and the world still is crazy. But that’s no surprise, really, because as Christians we know the way of the world is not God’s way. What is supposed to be a celebration of God’s greatest gift to humans has become a season of commerce, a season that continues to begin earlier and earlier in the year.

Now, giving gifts is not a bad thing nor is getting a good deal on those gifts but is God pleased with how much attention the stuff gets instead of the One who provides the stuff, and that the “season of stuff” has overshadowed the one day set aside to give thanks?

God likes it when we thank Him. In fact He instructs us to thank Him all through the Bible. Not only is it good manners, but it helps us remember that this is His world and everything we have comes from Him. We should thank the Lord every day but it is appropriate that we set aside a special day to give thanks to God.

God should be the focus of Thanksgiving. After all, when you give thanks, there must be a recipient! Sadly though, a lot of people are simply “thankful”. They have this generic, fuzzy sort of attitude about how whatever it is they are thankful for shows up in their lives. Others are not thankful at all, to anyone or anything. Both attitudes exclude God, and that is one reason we can get sucked into the “season of stuff” mindset.

So may I encourage you to make God the centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table this year? Celebrate Him! Read some Psalms at the dinner table; they are loaded with words of gratitude. As the old hymn reminds us:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Here’s another suggestion to celebrate the Lord this Thanksgiving: don’t talk about Black Friday, whether it’s comparing the bargains or complaining about how awful it is that stores are opening at all hours of the night. Let it be the farthest thing from your mind!

As you celebrate God’s provision, as you remember that He is the hero of our lives, recall also that many are not as blessed as we, and that His heart is that we share our blessings with them. The Lord is generous and wants His people to give freely also. Someone shared with me years ago that the secret to joy is:

Jesus

Others

You 

By ordering our lives according to that simple illustration, we can know the true joy that only He brings. The world gives us Black Friday; the Lord gives us JOY!

May God’s joy be yours this Thanksgiving, may your family truly celebrate the One who gives so generously and may you know the peace that comes only from faith in Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One way to please God and bless others is through the Critter Campaign, presented by Gospel for Asia and Equip FM. Click here to learn how you can celebrate Christ and transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

To learn more about a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ click here.

Equip FM serves Lynchburg at 95.3 FM, Amherst and Madison Heights at 88.7 FM, and Appomattox at 90.5 FM. You may also listen online at www.equipfm.org.