Thanksgiving - Then and Now

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100: 4, 5

In the United States, in December of 1941, through a joint resolution adopted by the US Senate and House of Representatives and signed by President Roosevelt, the fourth Thursday of November was officially designated as the date for Thanksgiving Day. It started in our land as essentially a harvest festival and a day of thanksgiving. The early Christian settlers brought with them their Christian heritage of giving thanks for God’s blessings.

The book of Psalms contains the rich and varied responses of many souls in Israel to the divine calling. It is essentially a collection of prayers and praises. A Christian cannot escape the admonition to nurture a thankful heart. It is a part of our national history and Christian heritage.

In a personal devotion relating to Thanksgiving it should bring our focus not to what we failed to receive, but what we did “harvest.” Only you can count your blessings. Our culture is crowded with reminders of what we “need.”  Advertisements seek to create a “desire to own.” We are not immune to these enticements. The old hymn verse “Count your many blessings, name them one by one” may seem ancient, but is it?

Don’t expect someone else to prepare your Thanksgiving list. If we are to follow the custom of a harvest festival, we must be thankful for food that sustains us. Our land produces much grain as well as meat, poultry, and many vegetables and fruits. Many are the threats to this food supply – drought, flood, hurricanes, diseases of livestock and poultry, etc. Probably no place on earth can match our supermarket offerings. Yet even in Lincoln, it seems the food pantries are always in need.

Sometime during this Thanksgiving season, sit down and read “America the Beautiful.” Consider carefully each verse. Did you experience any of the things mentioned during the last year?

Prayer: Our Father, teach us to be thankful servants.  Guide our eyes and thoughts to the beautiful about us. Help us to recall the acts of kindness that came our way and to be thankful in our spirit.  Amen.

Harold Edwards (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotion book, published in 2008)