Thanksgiving

This week marked Thanksgiving, a national holiday that is entirely religious in origin and purpose, despite secular protestations.

We’ve probably all heard the fanciful tales of the “First Thanksgiving,” in which the Pilgrims were starving until Squanto and his buddies brought over some maize (corn), turkey, and side dishes, after which they watched Ye Olde Detroit Lions lose to the New England Patriots—or some variation thereof.

The truth about our nation’s first Thanksgiving is more complex, but the focus was always about thanking God for his providence, even in the midst of adversity.

It’s easy for us to thank God for wonderful things that happen to us. We see sports stars and celebrities thanking God for victories or awards (and it’s great when they do that), but we never hear about an athlete thanking God for a torn meniscus in the second quarter, or an actor for being passed over for an academy award.

Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, shows us a different perspective in which that idea of thankfulness, even during rough times, should be common for us.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be made known to all people. The Lord is near. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:4–7 (LEB)

One thing we need to remember when reading this letter is that Paul wrote it while in a Roman prison. Imagine you’re in the Yuma jail awaiting trial because you don’t have bail money, and you match the description of a fugitive. You haven’t done anything wrong, but you’re in jail anyway.  Would you be rejoicing? Probably not, but that’s exactly what Paul tells us to do. The trials and tribulations in our lives can strengthen our faith, or they can destroy it if we allow ourselves to lose hope.

Being a Christian doesn’t protect us against life’s hardships; it enables us to endure them. We will definitely have hardships as Christians—that’s promised to us. “Pick up your cross and follow me” is not a description of lifelong ease.

The Thanksgiving we offered on Thursday was for everything God has allowed for us, and to us. Paul’s statement regarding thankfulness includes an admonition against worrying. Anxiety is worry. If you are anxious about something, you’re worrying. Changing the name doesn’t change the behavior. Worrying doesn’t change anything, but prayer does—most importantly, it changes us. That’s why Jesus and Paul tell us to pray instead of worrying. By the way, doing what Jesus specifically tells us not to do is sin. There’s no exemption for parents about their children, or pending medical procedures, or term papers.

An attitude of thankfulness, however, carries over into all other aspects of our lives and personality. Thankful people are more enjoyable to be around. Curmudgeonry isn’t a spiritual gift, and people who complain a lot would hardly be described as “thankful.” Thankfulness yields a pleasant disposition.

We will go through the difficulties in our lives regardless of our attitude toward them. Our opinion of events does nothing to alter them. We can be dejected or rejoice. Paul tells us to choose the latter, because God’s grace will see us through the difficult times. He will never forsake us.

For that we should be thankful.