HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Here is a devotional that I posted on social media. In case you did not see it, I thought it was timely to share it as we come to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

Psalm 136 bids us “give thanks to the Lord.” This psalm seems to be a responsive reading, where the worship leader states the reason we are to be thankful to God, and the people respond each time with, “for his steadfast love endures forever.” We may gather these reasons for gratefulness into three general groups.

Be thankful for GOD’S GOOD CHARACTER (v.1-3). We are grateful for who God is. “He is good,” (v.1). Goodness is defined by God. We see His supremacy as “God of gods,” and His sovereignty as “Lord of lords.” There is none like Him. He is above all as God and over all as Lord.

Be thankful for GOD’S GREAT CONDUCT (v.4-22). We are grateful for what God does. “To him who alone does great wonders.” Greatness is displayed by God. His great work is highlighted in Hebrew history. We see it in Genesis in the creation of all (v.4-9); in Exodus in the calling of Israel (v.10-16); in Joshua in the conquest of Canaan (v.17-22). As God saved Israel and gave them an inheritance, so the Lord has called us and prepared a home in heaven for us!

Be thankful for GOD’S GRACIOUS CARE (v.23-26). We are grateful for what God delivers. It is He “who gives food to all flesh.” Grace is given to all humanity as He sends the rain upon the just and the unjust to grow our crops. Both saints and sinners receive His gracious care. We cannot demand it, we do not deserve it, but desperately need His grace, “in our low estate.” As we come to this Thanksgiving Day in America, we would be wise to see that our nation is safe because God “rescued us,” and is sustained because God “gives food to all.”

Let us then, “Give thanks to the God of heaven for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Happy Thanksgiving,

Dennis Thurman, AMS