Thanksgiving Time

Thanksgiving is a time of remembrance of the past year. To the pilgrims of old it was a celebration of a great harvest. Their meal itself reflected the abundant crops they had harvested. After surviving a horrible winter and working hard through spring and summer they were now able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It truly was a time of THANKSGIVING.

Being thankful is not just an act of gratitude but is also a move of faith. When I begin to thank God for those things I ask in prayer I demonstrate that I already believe that He will provide.

(Mark 11:24 NASB) "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Many of us have had a difficult year. The world, time and the devil have come at us from all directions.  Some things we didn't even see coming.  But our lives are not defined by what we are going through.  Our lives are defined by what God says.  Life is, after all, 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to situations and circumstances.   

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT  Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  (7)  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Paul says to pray about everything, tell God what you need and then be THANKFUL. It is through a thankful heart that we experience God's peace in our lives.  Make a list of all the good things that God has done for you over the past year.  We do that by thinking on the good that has happened not just thinking about all our troubles.

Philippians 4:8-9 NLT  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  (9)  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

This Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for what God has done for us and excited about the future.  He has great plans for all of us.  Happy Thanksgiving!

A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 100:1-5