To Whom Are You Thankful To?

One thing that has perplexed me greatly since becoming a follower of Christ is the question of Thanksgiving. It is this. For those people who live in America, who grew up here and are familiar with the holiday of Thanksgiving, yet demonstrate no belief in God, who are they thankful to?

Sure, I get it, they probably make statements about how they are thankful to their boss or the owners of the company they work for. Probably tell Grandma they appreciate the meal and the desserts. Maybe even post on Facebook that they are thankful to their wife for doing their wash and keeping the house.

But to whom are they thankful to, in the general spirit of the very holiday we gather once a year and celebrate. If you don’t believe in a creator than the only logical conclusion is to believe that all the blessings and good things are a result of your own great efforts. So, I guess that is it. I am thankful to myself for being such a wonderful survival of the fittest accomplisher of so much good. Wow. That’s a really prideful attitude.

The truth is that there is a God and He is the one to whom belongs all our thankfulness. For those who know and believe the truth of the God of the Bible, we must understand that it is He, who deserves our thanksgiving.

In John 3:27 we read this, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” Nothing, nada, not one single thing, is ours unless God has given it to us.

In James 1:17 we see that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Every good gift comes down from above, from God. Every single one.

The unsaved world does not understand this. The truth is, they know God exists. But listen to what Romans 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

This failure to be thankful to God is a dangerous place to reside. It will ruin your thinking and darken your heart.

But fellow Christians. We know better.

If you can think of nothing else to thank Him for as we enter this holiday, remember this verse.

Isaiah 12:1
You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.

God loved us so much He sent His son to pay the price and the penalty of our sin. Because of Christ, God’s anger has been turned away from his children. Now we can dwell in His comfort.

So, what should we do on this holiday we call Thanksgiving?

Psalm 95:2
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!