A Thought for Thanksgiving

This Thursday, Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day to pause and reflect on our blessings, and to thank God for His care and provision for us. Our Thanksgiving tradition began with the Pilgrims, who came to our shores to escape religious persecution. After a year of hardships, in which half the settlers died, they set aside a time to celebrate the harvest and thank God for His blessings. In spite of their struggles and sacrifices, the Pilgrims were grateful for the freedom to worship God. Their governor, William Bradford, wrote in his manuscript Of Plymouth Plantation, "We have noted these things so that you might see their worth and not negligently lose what your fathers have obtained with so much hardship."

As we gather around the table this Thanksgiving Day, let us remember all that God has done for us. Let us thank God for family and friends, for food and shelter and the clothes we wear. Let us thank Him for our freedom, which was gained at great cost. But most of all, let us thank Him for salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh give thanks to the LORD;

call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

1 Chronicles 16:8

(ESV)