We Have So Much to Be Thankful For! By Lane Jordan Burday

“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.  For the Lord is a great God.”  Psalm 95:1-3

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Perhaps because it’s all about good food, good fellowship, and the realization that, because of the sacrifices of so many people, we live in such a free and wonderful country. And I love that it’s about people and gratefulness for all we have, rather than focusing on material items.

In 1621, settlers of this new land gathered for the first Thanksgiving celebration to express their gratitude to God for His bountiful provisions during the previous year. 

When George Washington became the first President of the United States, he too formally recognized Thanksgiving Day.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday.

I wonder what our forefathers would think of how we celebrate the holiday today.  Many stores are now opening their doors on Thanksgiving.  Many of us are too busy watching football, or shopping, or decorating for Christmas to even really think about the importance and the holiness of Thanksgiving.

It makes me stop and ask you:  Are you grateful for all that God has blessed you with?  Or are you going to focus instead on your troubles, disappointments, and the pressures of life?

I know that complaining is much easier than being thankful.  The Israelites in the desert, instead of doing a jig in the sand because God had brought them out of Egypt, started complaining about everything. And God judged them for it.  Why couldn’t they be thankful for their new freedom?

And why can’t we be happy that we have clean water and electricity, food stocked in grocery stores, medicine, plenty of hospitals, roads, libraries, parks, cars, and technology?

I think we aren’t as grateful as we should be because we have such high expectations. Of course, there is food to buy, people to make us well, and goods to buy. We forget that our parents and grandparents went without during the depression and then World War 2. And for some reason, we seem to look back on when our lives seemed to be perfect. That’s what the Israelites did! Now that they were free, they started thinking about what else they wanted, and it was all the good food back in Egypt! Perhaps we forget that we live in a free country and that it took great sacrifice from many to keep us that way.

My prayer for each one of you this Thanksgiving is that you will remember to be thankful.  To pray to your Lord with gratefulness and thanksgiving for all He has done for you and will do for you for now and forever more. 

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; that my soul may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to Thee forever” (Psalm 30: 11-12).