When I was growing up, the Thanksgiving holiday was second only to Christmas. Our family would gather together for the traditional thanksgiving holiday meal, and we were able to spend time with one another that we did not normally take throughout the year. I do not believe, in all the years that we got together, did I ever stop to think how fortunate I was. My fortunes were so much better than some in that I had my family, a nice home in which to live, and everything I could ever want. It is funny, in all those years I never consider myself fortunate. I just thought that was the way everyone was supposed to live. As I got older, and had to start providing for myself, I understood that not everyone was as fortunate as I was. I look back at it now and see that I took a lot for granted. I was not truly thankful for what I had.
Giving thanks for all we have can be taken for granted. We have our health, our families, our jobs, and most of all we have a God who loves us, and still there are times that we forget to express our thankfulness unto the Creator of Heaven and earth.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a time this nation has set aside to remember how blessed we truly are. The holiday has no religious bearings within itself, but the idea is certainly a biblical concept. The Bible teaches us to be thankful. The psalmist wrote, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 118:1). As Christians we must understand that every good gift we have received, whether it is family, jobs, houses, or anything else, comes from God. James said, “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
As we take time to reflect on the blessings in our lives, ask the question: Am I truly thankful for the blessings in my life? Remember the words of Asaph, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High (Psalm 50:14)