The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up on Thursday. On the Sunday before the holiday, I was asked to lead our congregation through a guided prayer time that served to set the stage for the holiday. Here’s what I came up with. There are a few words of introduction that set the tone, and I closed with a brief concluding prayer. But in between were six prompts where I encouraged those in attendance to express themselves to God in their own words in the privacy of their own hearts. Hopefully it served to engage them during a part of the service where it’s easy for folks to disconnect and disengage.
We are within a few weeks of the end of the 2021 calendar year—a year that most of us were hoping would be radically different from 2020, but one that has, in many ways, been annoyingly the same. We still find ourselves wrestling with the reality of a global pandemic. We’re still experiencing the nasty rhetoric and fallout associated with political division. We are still contending with the repercussions of a lethargic job market and a sluggish economy. Racial tension is still very real and social hostility is still very much a part of our lives.
For many of us, the reality of all these things—and other things—leaves us feeling a bit disheartened as we approach the Thanksgiving season. And when that’s the case, it is sometimes hard to be the grateful, thankful people God wants us to be. It’s hard to summon the wherewithal to do what the Bible asks of us and “Be thankful in all circumstances.”
So, this a.m. I want to take a few moments to reflect on some things that, regardless of what we’re experiencing, we can always thank God for. I invite you to draw a curtain around your life where you’re seated, bow your head, open yourself up to Him in prayer, and thank Him for some basic, foundational things in life that sometimes, in the busyness and chaos, we tend to overlook or forget.
First of all, none of us comes into relationship with God because of our own decency or goodness. We are, by nature, sinners who have messed up and fallen short. We have done things that have insulted Him and been an affront to Him, and He chose to forgive us and not let those things come between us and Him. Lets take a moment to thank God for the reconciliation He has forged and the grace He has shown to us.
Second—a purposeful and personal God, when He looks at the human race, doesn’t see a random and indiscriminate mass of humanity. He sees us as individuals—people with distinct gifts … people upon whom He has bestowed particular talents … people who each possess a unique and extraordinary calling. Lets take a moment right now to thank Him for the specific plans He has for us.
Third—after Jesus was resurrected and before He ascended into heaven, He assured His disciples He would send a Comforter who would be with them forever. And a few weeks later, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit burst onto the scene to fill and permeate the life of each believer. Lets take a moment right now to thank Him for the promise that He will never leave us … that His accompanying presence will remain with us in any and every circumstance.
Fourth—the Holy Spirit doesn’t remain in our life as a static, stagnant entity. Instead, He’s constantly at work—supplying us with guidance and wisdom … using the situations and circumstances of our lives to teach us valuable lessons … refining our motives … re-arranging our priorities … forging in us the character and moral likeness of Jesus. Lets take a moment to thank God for the positive, constructive changes He’s bringing about in our lives.
Fifth—when we open ourselves up to God and allow Him to do a work in us, we are adopted. He doesn’t leave us as isolated and detached beings, but He welcomes us into a household of faith—a tribe of folks that spans time, culture, race, denominational affiliation, and all the other things that so often serve to divide us. Lets take a moment to thank God for the beauty and diversity of the spiritual family we’re a part of.
And finally—we all know that, as mortal beings, our time on this planet will one day come to an end. While God has granted us an eternal essence, it’s housed within an earthen vessel that will one day break down and wear out. But the Bible promises us that, when that day arrives, that’s not the end of life as we know it but, rather, the beginning. So lets take a moment to thank God for the home He’s preparing for us and a hope that is real.
Father—on this Sunday before Thanksgiving, we say “thanks” for these undeserved blessings which you’ve extended to each of us—things that we, in no way, deserve or are entitled to but, rather, receive as kind and generous gifts from your hand. May these few moments of reminiscence and recollection spark in us an awareness of the many, many things we have to be thankful for … in spite of the challenges, suffering, and difficulties we incur from the world around us. May we, during this upcoming Thanksgiving season, cue not off what’s going on around us but, rather, the continuing and ongoing work you’re doing within us and the consistent and undeviating nature of who you are. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.