I love the Thanksgiving holiday. There's something special about having the whole family home, enjoying each others' company, waking up to the smell of turkey roasting...It helps me enjoy the true riches in my life and remember how blessed I really am. This week I've been thinking about Psalm 136 which begins with a 3-part refrain that is repeated throughout this psalm as well as in other places in the Scriptures. Let me encourage you to think about this passage and fill your heart with thanksgiving.
Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good.
His love endures forever.
(New International Version)
Give thanks to the Lord
Giving thanks is not just something we should do out of courtesy to God. It is a heart felt expression of our personal understanding that God is the One who provides for us, protects us, and cares for us in all dimensions of our life. Let me encourage you individually and with your family to list all the ways you have experienced God's provision, protection, and care this past year. We traditionally give everyone a sheet of paper with the word "Thanksgiving" written vertically down the page. Each person then spends some time using the letters to remind them of something they are thankful for. After the meal (but before dessert!) we take turns going around the table, one letter at a time, sharing what we're grateful for.
Giving thanks improves our ability to see God at work.
Giving thanks improves our ability to see God at work. Faith is a way of seeing, and thanksgiving is the means of focusing the lens and keeping the lens of faith clean and sharp. I've noticed that when I am not grateful to God, I feel like God is not at work in my life. It's when I begin to give thanks in all things that I really begin to see the hand of God operating in my life.
This weekend, pause regularly throughout the day, and just thank God very specifically for what is going on at that moment. Let Him begin to open your eyes to His presence in your life.
For he is good
Why can we give thanks? Because God is good. His actions toward us flow from His essential goodness. It's not just that God does good things. We even do that sometimes. But He is good. He cannot be otherwise. We give thanks, not just for the good things God does for us, but because everything He does flows out of His goodness to us. Do you believe that He is good? In a world where we often have to be wary of the motivations of others, isn't it a relief to be assured that God is good? It strengthens my faith to be confident of this truth.
This weekend, reflect upon all the ways you and your family are experiencing the goodness of God.
His love endures forever
This phrase is the background color of this psalm. Everything else that is written here stands against this vivid background. The original Hebrew for love, as it is used here, literally means "loyal love." Someone can be good, but if they do not relate to us in love, their goodness doesn't touch us. God's loyalty and commitment to us is intense and forever. This loyal love for us endures through all things and in spite of all things...forever. Nothing can separate us from this love. Nothing can overcome this love. We will forever be embraced by this love and bask in His goodness.
This weekend reflect upon all the ways that you and your family have experienced the loyal love of God, the love that never gives up and is always there for you. When have you felt abandoned or desperate? When have you felt unworthy? It's in those moments that His loyal love was fully present for you.
The Thanksgiving weekend kicks off the most frenetic consumer season of the year. Everything is designed to make you feel like things are missing from your life...things that only retailers can provide you. Whenever you feel the marketer's tug on your heart, pause — then give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
