[Zoom In] Waves of Thanksgiving: A Year-round Event - Joy from God
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November 23, 2008 |
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 The life of an individual who is grateful even for the most trivial of things 365 days of the year will be at peace and abounding in joy.
When blessings find his way, anyone can be thankful. It is equally critical to ask in return whether or not the same individual can be thankful when he faces difficulties against which his strength and abilities are powerless.
Acts of thanksgiving in such times will be true in nature and exert wondrous power.
The Bible teaches us to be grateful to God at all times. When we come to grasp the love of our God hidden in afflictions, instead of merely accepting affliction as affliction itself, we could only be grateful.
Giving thanks, to which we become more familiar the more we show it, not only makes our lives prosperous but is also a shortcut in drawing nearer to God. (Editors)
Giving thanks gives birth to miracles.
When a war broke out, King Jehoshaphat organized a choir, placed it ahead of the advancing army, and had it offer God a praise of gratitude: "Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." The result was a convincing victory for Israel (2 Chronicles 20).
While preaching the Gospel, the Apostle Paul and Silas had their robes torn off them, were beaten, imprisoned, and had the stocks fastened to their feet. These two also offered God a praise of gratitude and "suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened" (Acts 16).
When he was about to be thrown into a lions' den on account of evildoers, Daniel did not concern himself with their crafty schemes but instead "continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God" (Daniel 6:10). In the end, Daniel was thrown into a lions' den but he was not injured in any way as God had sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths.
Thanksgiving not only brings peace that soothes the mind but also gives birth to unimaginable miracles. In the face of one's own benefits, he can give thanks easily. Thanksgiving offered amidst trials and afflictions, however, is impossible without the faith by which one believes that God is always looking over him and He always recompenses him.
Therefore, even when one faces a dire dilemma before which he is rendered completely helpless and finds that all his methods are useless, giving thanks is the key to bringing down from above astounding works of God.
Giving thanks is the evidence of one's faith.
Among all the Israelites who left Egypt, why were Joshua and Caleb the only ones to enter the land of Canaan and the rest killed in the wilderness?
Even after witnessing works of God, the people of Israel were quick to complain if their everyday life became a little difficult. This flatly attests to their lack of faith. On the other hand, their descendants who gave thanks and were obedient in faith could safely enter the Promised Land.
The reason we can give thanks even when faced with disasters is because we believe that God knows all things and will give us in the end only that which is the best for us (Romans 8:28). Even the parents in this world do everything they can to give only the best for their children. What in the universe, then, can Father God not give us?
A life in which afflictions turned into blessings
There was a boy named Simon, born with a hereditary disorder called Morquio syndrome that causes dwarfism. He was less than 1 meter (about 39 inches) tall. He was the butt of jokes for people in the village and his friends while his own parents largely neglected him. Yet, Simon never held a grudge against anyone.
Instead, Simon believed that he would grow up to be a hero and that God would use him for a special purpose. To others, Simon had nothing for which he should or could be grateful but he believed in God's Providence for him and that faith came from thanksgiving.
In the end, Simon could save many lives because of his height. He had become a hero of which he had dreamed. This is the plot from the film "Simon Birch."
Fanny J. Crosby, the lyricist behind beautiful and moving words for such well-known hymns as "Blessed Assurance" and "A Wonderful Saviour is Jesus My Lord," wrote lyrics for over 8,000 songs of praise during the 94 years of her life. She became blind about 6 weeks after birth but most of her poems dealt with giving thanks and joy.
When she was 8 years old, Crosby wrote, "Oh what a happy soul I am / Although I cannot see," and confessed that having lost sight was one of the blessings God had given her. Having led a life marked by her trust in God despite all difficulties and by thanksgiving, Crosby was a wise woman who transformed afflictions of life into sources of thanksgiving.
God delights in accomplishing His work through people who give thanks and always causes such individuals to lead lives of blessing.
There is one element for which we the Christians can never be sufficiently grateful: the grace of salvation, the fact that each of us has been blessed to become a child of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we keep this in mind, we will give thanks in everything.
Thanksgiving Day: A Spirit to Be Remembered for Ages
Even today, "Thanksgiving Day" is considered and celebrated as a major holiday in the United States, and there is a good reason for it.
Centuries ago in England, there was a conflict of faith between the Puritans who sought to lead God-fearing lives according to the Word of the Bible and the Anglicans who had become drenched in formality of a religion. The king of England did not acknowledge Puritanism and its adherents could not enjoy the freedom of religion. They migrated to the Netherlands to preserve their faith but life there was weary and far more difficult than in England.
In 1620, the Pilgrims leased a ship called Mayflower with the money they had toiled to earn and crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of religious freedom. When the ship made a landing in early winter at Plymouth in what would become the northeastern United States, many onboard had died en route and from the cold weather and starvation. This is when the natives ("Indians") provided the Pilgrims with corn and other grains and taught the new settlers to farm.
The following year, the Pilgrims reaped an abundant harvest and offered the first crops to God in thanksgiving. They gave thanks to the One who had all along stayed beside them as they migrated to a new continent to preserve their faith and until they reaped precious fruit after overcoming the cold weather, starvation, and diseases. The Pilgrims also invited the natives and shared with them the crops they had harvested and turkey, and celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in the New World.
This is the origin of Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a nation founded by the spirit of the Puritans. Each of us ought to keep in mind the spirit of the Puritans who celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in a new continent and lead a blessed life marked by our giving thanks in everything.
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