Truly Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is here again, and as I contemplate the depths of what this means to me, I am indeed reminded of all that I have for which I can and ought to give thanks....

I could list the things we typically hear things, such as family & friends and also the likely housing and provisions, too.  There's also the jokingly, or maybe not so jokingly depending on the individual and his needs/circumstances, luxury or two that could be mentioned.  For the Christian, some of the other obvious things are also our personal salvation from sin and eternal death through Jesus Christ, our church family and the freedom to worship openly (which includes our country & those who have served to preserve our freedoms & rights), and maybe a specific spiritual mentor or two.

Yes, Thanksgiving Day is about all that, but it's also even more than that.  Just as the word thanksgiving infers, it's about our thanks being directed somewhere, to Someone.  That someone is Jehovah-God, the God of Israel who is also the very same God of us New Testament believers in Christ Jesus.  Indeed, one of His names that is based upon His own character is Jehovah-jireh, "the Lord provides."  And He does.  Over and over and over.  He is the Creator of all and the true Lord over all, yet He lowered Himself to take on our humanhood (whom we know as Jesus, fully God yet fully man) to die the cruel death of the cross of crucifixion, be buried, then raise Himself from the dead to offer each and every individual the gift of salvation from eternal condemnation and damnation.  And that is a gift I so dearly cling to.

Oh yes, yes, yes! There truly is a lot to be thankful for, and yet too frequently I am guilty of taking it for granted.  But that's where God's grace comes in.  He forgives, then helps me to change the areas He has opened my eyes to see need changing, and then He assists me to my feet when I stumble & fall and allows me to cling to Him as the process begins anew.  Yes, that's another wonderful thing I can be thankful for, and the same thing can be true for you.  I hope it already is, but if not, He is still offering this gift to you today, and it can be yours if you will just receive it.

So, happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you too will have a wonderfully glorious day counting your blessings and giving credit to Whom it is due.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
~ Colossians 2:6-7 ~