“Yet even now,” declares
the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and
with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD
your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not
turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him...Then the LORD became jealous
for his land and had pity on his people. The LORD answered and said to his
people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be
satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations…You shall
eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who
has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your
God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”
(Joel 2:12-27)
In a couple short weeks,
many will gather around tables with family and friends to celebrate
Thanksgiving. For Christians, it isn’t a day of just feeling good and giving
thanks in a way that expresses to “the universe” or fate that we’ve been lucky.
No, we can use some of the language Israel was given in the passage above. We
will (hopefully) eat plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord
our God who has treated us immensely better than we deserve.
But then we have this
quick turnaround to something called Black Friday, which has already started
for many stores, as we look ahead to Christmas. While the true meaning of
Christmas is that God sent his Son Jesus to be born and live as one of us, and
to do all that was necessary to be our Savior—the greatest gift of all, Christmas
feels inseparably linked to our gift-giving and receiving. While we may count
our blessings and claim to be satisfied on Thanksgiving, the Amazon, Fleet Farm
Toyland, Target, and any other gift catalogs often prove otherwise. Whatever
“plenty” we do have is not enough, we want more; we think we’re actually a
little dissatisfied without more stuff.
Truth be told, I’m not a
grinch when it comes to exchanging gifts; in fact, I really enjoy both sides of
it. I want us to reflect and give God thanks and praise for all we have,
though! God promises to provide for us—believe that, but his promises come with
the desire for us to rightly acknowledge that he knows what we need. The
things of this world, what he gives—both needs and wants—should not receive
more praise, thanks, and adoration than the One who’s providing every good
gift. When we would rather have every new toy or technology rather than
trust God has already given us useful and sufficient blessings, what is
controlling us?
Do we stop and think
often enough (more than just the fourth Thursday each November) about all we
have to be thankful to God for? Some things come readily to mind like food,
family, friends, the gift of salvation. But there are so many things that
happen around us without us having to do anything, without us recognizing or
remembering them. The breath we breathe or that a machine has been
designed to help us with. The way blood travels through the body and
senses travel between our nerves to keep things functioning and alert us if
something is wrong—all according to God’s design. Do we give thanks for
the minds he has given us to learn as well as to hold onto memories even of
things that happened long ago or that loved one who perhaps is missing for the
first time at holiday gatherings because they’ve passed away? What about
the talents he has given us, and the different talents others have been blessed
with—all that bring glory to God when used properly. These are just a few
of the wonderful things in and around us, which are only present because of
God.
What is
thanksgiving? It is gladness, rejoicing, praise. It is not just a
feeling of excitement, but it is directed toward someone. God told his Old
Testament people in response to his blessing, “…Praise the name of the LORD
your God… You shall know that I am in [your midst], and that I am the
Lord your God and there is none else.” Thanksgiving is expressing our
deepest appreciation to him, and him above all. Having been saved,
forgiven, and reconciled by God through Jesus Christ and blessed in so many ways,
should give us such exuberance that others take notice and wonder what and who
we are thankful for this holiday season. Tell them about the One who has given
you plenty to be thankful for!
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