In Everything Give Thanks

It is the time of the year when darkness and fog descend on the Willamette Valley. On one of my morning runs last week, I passed the Chehalem Cultural Center and noticed that the Christmas lights were already up, glowing warmly against the cold morning. Thanksgiving is not until Thursday, so it felt a little soon to be considering Christmas, but then I remembered that many retailers start putting out Christmas items right after Halloween. 

Thanksgiving is one of those uniquely American holidays. In the autumn of 1621, the Wampanoag joined 52 English people at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, to mark a successful harvest season. The Puritan settlers emphasized God’s blessings and embraced new friendships, although those good relationships would not last. It was not recognized nationally until more than two centuries later, when, in the midst of the Civil War (October 3, 1863), President Abraham Lincoln made the following proclamation:

“It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”

Lincoln, in the midst of great suffering, unlike the first Thanksgiving in 1621, called for the American people to come together to acknowledge the blessings of God. It’s a curious request. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians during an equally difficult time of persecution, made a similar request of those who seek to follow Jesus: "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, New Living Bible).  

The scripture, “In everything give thanks,” encourages a mindset of gratitude in both good and bad circumstances. How is that possible or even desirable? We live in a fallen world, and much of what we experience cannot be characterized as good – death, disease, personal conflict, and war, among a long list of negative human experiences. 

It is essential to acknowledge that Paul did not suggest we give thanks “for” the events. The early Christians experienced great suffering for expressing their commitment to Christ. The suffering was real and painful. What Paul asks is that we approach life knowing that we are not in control of events, nor do we know the complete story. What we must acknowledge is that we serve a God who is carefully working all things toward the end He desires. His Kingdom will come. Even in the midst of pain, disease, and war, He is at work. My late father’s recent dementia was challenging, but I could still see God’s work in tough circumstances. Our thanks are not directed toward the events but to the God who loves us and is working in us according to His purpose.  

This Thanksgiving, as you gather around a table to share a meal, I hope you take a moment to give thanks to God for His presence in your life and His work in your family. May you feel God's presence at your table and in the lives of your family and friends this Thanksgiving.