Why Should We Give Thanks In
Times Like These?
By: Wanda L. Ball
According to History.com, the first Thanksgiving took place in Massachusetts during the Pilgrim
Settlers second winter in America in December 1621. The first winter had killed 44 of the original
with them for corn, they were able to survive. Since next summers crops brought hope, the
Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast on December 13,
1621, which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
Although this feast is considered to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in
keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty
of crops. The Pilgrims gave thanks to God for helping them find acres of land that had no hostile
Indians and for newfound religious freedom. They also celebrated with the friendly Indians who
brought wild turkeys and venison with them. As well as prayers, sermons and songs of praise.
They spent three days feasting and praying. Since that time, Thanksgiving is a celebration of
thanks of gratitude to God for His grace and mercy upon us. And President Lincoln officially set
aside the last Thursday of November in 1863, "as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our
beneficent Father." In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941, the fourth Thursday of November be
observed as Thanksgiving Day and be a legal holiday.
But why should we give thanks in times like these today? It is true that in today's society, some of
us may think we don't have much to be thankful for. From loss of jobs, homes, cars and
possessions, what's left? From the fall of Wall Street, the never ending war and the bad economy,
why should we still be thankful to God? 1 Thessalonians says, "Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." This means,
no matter what we may go through, good or bad, God will always make a way for us. Even at our
darkest time or hour, God will always turn a negative into a positive, if we only believe and trust in
Him. Even in the book of Exodus, the Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were
delivered from Pharoah's army after they crossed the Red Sea. And the book of Psalms is full of
songs of thanksgiving for God's grace to the Israelite people as well as for His individual graces to
each of us.
In this life there will always be things to complain about. But God gave us a choice. Do we choose
to be positive or negative? Is the glass half empty or full? No matter how grim our situations may
be, there will always be something to be thankful for. Did we live to see another day? Do we have
our health and strength? Are our families ok? Do we have clothes, food and shelter? If we only
believe and trust in God, He will give us our needs and not necessarily our wants. For Romans
8:28-30 says, "For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even
events we would not necessarily consider good." May God grant that He may find us grateful
everyday for all gifts- spiritual and material.
1 Min with Wanda
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