Today is Thanksgiving Day – a day deeply rooted in our country’s history, a day affirmed by many presidents (beginning with George Washington), a day set apart for gratitude. And this thanks must be “given,” and if given, given to someone—The Lord God. Yes, as a nation, today is the day we give thanks to God Almighty for His many blessings to us personally and as nation.
Please set aside your strategy plans for Black Friday and truly give thanks for your many blessings as you enjoy being together with loved ones .
Does having this one day set aside for giving thanks work against us? Maybe. By that I mean, giving thanks today is scheduled—it’s on the calendar. The bigger challenge is having a heart of gratitude daily, as a way of life. As Christians, we are called to live a life of gratitude every day.
…we are to do and say everything "giving thanks" to God the Father through Jesus. This doesn't mean that we are to stop every action and every conversation in order to offer a literal prayer of thanks to God. Rather, we are to act and speak thankfully. We are to live each moment with an awareness of God's grace at work in our lives and in the world. Sometimes we will express our gratitude to God or to others. But even when we're silent, we are to receive all of life and do all that we do with an awareness that we are living by grace.
Living thankfully gives God the credit he deserves, and that's sufficient reason to do it. But living thankfully also transforms us. It gives us a deeper appreciation of life. It steers us away from focusing too much on our struggles. It enables us to see God's presence even in hard times. It motivates us to live each moment of each day for God and his glory. (~Mark D. Roberts, The High Calling)
Help us to be thankful to You, Lord, in all that we do and say, every day, and may thanksgiving become a true habit of mind, heart, and action.
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