Next week our nation pauses to celebrate Thanksgiving. The origins of the Thanksgiving holiday are well known to most of us: The early European settlers to our land took a day to recognize God’s faithful provision during the very difficult first few years in the new world. I think the focus of Thanksgiving is often on God’s provision of the bounty from his creation. The food we eat. The homes we have. And now in our time we celebrate the comforts we enjoy. I hope you enjoy your thanksgiving celebration next week.
It’s important as Christians to recognize the origins of thanksgiving going back much farther than 400 some years ago, with a different object for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a uniquely Judeo – Christian value that we see expressed in the very earliest chapters of the Bible. Our text this Sunday is Psalm 103 where David admonishes us to “Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” David warns us to not forget the benefits God had afforded those who surrender to Him as LORD and redeemer. Following that statement in verse 2 are 5 participles that the Psalmist uses to describe what those benefits are. The interesting thing is none of them pertain to the material, created world. Instead, they all have to do with the deep spiritual needs of mankind and God’s loving provision for those needs. If we only pause on Thanksgiving Day to remember the tangible, we will miss the greatest benefits God has bestowed upon us. Join me this Sunday as we all get our memories jogged with David’s admonishment to Forget Not Thanksgiving!