It’s the week after Thanksgiving, but we can still give thanks.

Anne L. Goetz — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:46:10 +0000

This week, my Bible study and I looked at thankfulness in the Bible. Looking at the prayers of faithful people in the Scriptures isn’t a bad way of teaching yourself how to pray—and when once you look, the whole book is littered with prayer after prayer of thankfulness, moment after moment of rejoicing. In the first two chapters of Luke, Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon have long prayers of thanksgiving; in Exodus 15, after God rescues the Israelites from Egypt, Moses and Miriam give thanks; and, of course, the psalms are full of moments of thanksgiving. There is no shortage of ready models to follow.

We shouldn't just give thanks before meals.

One pattern that we noticed is that most of the prayers of thanksgiving we looked at don’t thank God for just the most recent benefit given—they recount the whole history of God’s love and blessings, from our creation to the present moment. The prayers go into loving detail about every gracious act, every overwhelming mercy, every saving deed. I think that this is important trait for us to use in our own thanksgivings, because it is so easy for us to say, “Well, God gave me a beautiful sunny day today, sure, but then I have this problem set, and I just had a fight with my best friend, and my breakfast wasn’t very satisfying, so on the whole I have more to complain about than to be thankful for.” If we instead cast our minds back and remember that God created all of life and all the beauty of this world, that he continually reached out to humans, even when they sinned against him, that he sent his Son to save us from the death that we had wandered into, that he sent his Holy Spirit to be with us until Christ returns, that he was faithful to his people in every generation of the Church, that he came to each of us, in our separate ways, and made us living members of his Son through baptism, that he is continually working in our hearts to bring us to life eternal…well, the negative side of the balance sheet seems a lot punier after that. So recount all of God’s blessings, and rejoice in his love.

Giving extended thanks to God is a wonderful exercise not just because God deserves our thanks (which, of course, he does), but because it actually makes us feel more thankful. I have a suggestion for you: the next time that you are in a really awful place emotionally, and just feel that everything is going wrong for you, start to thank God for all the things he has given you. It certainly isn’t a magic bullet, but I guarantee that you will feel better. And if you just can’t find the words to give thanks, pray through Psalm 107. Try it, and you’ll see.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ichthus!

Cameron D. Kirk-Giannini — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:49:49 +0000

The Ichthus staff gives thanks for our brief Thanksgiving respite from classes and blogging! Now that the break has ended, and lest the tummy-aches, black Friday shopping, and extra sleep numb us to the blessings of God, I think it wise to remind ourselves of the purpose of this holiday.

George Washington pronounced the first Thanksgiving in 1789, declaring the day “to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” The intent was not merely to give thanks, but also to serve God. Gratefulness of heart would manifest itself not merely in words of gratitude, but also in action.

It is easy to forget that God is “the beneficent author of all the good.” In times of struggle, it is easy to get so focused on the challenges that lie ahead instead of remembering the small blessings that lie all around us. Therefore let us not forget!

e.e. cummings:

Thank God for that bizarre and wonderful creature, the turkey!

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

and R.W. Emerson:

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky;

For pleasant shade of branches high;

For fragrant air and cooling breeze;

For beauty of the blooming trees,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

God has surely blessed us in countless ways. Let us take the time to thank Him for all He has done!

the harvard ichthus » Thanksgiving

It’s the week after Thanksgiving, but we can still give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ichthus!