Heart to Heart

Thanksgiving—365 Days a Year!

This is the time of year in the United States and also in Canada when we celebrate a special holiday—Thanksgiving. As the holiday season approaches, our thoughts begin to turn toward family and friends. But we need to be careful that we do not allow Thanksgiving to become just another day when we get together with our loved ones to feast and watch football games. We need to remember that Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks to God!

The Bible gives us scripture after scripture on the subject of thanksgiving. Psalm 100:4 tells us, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” And Colossians 1:12–13 says, “Giving thanks unto the Father . . . Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

As we approach this season, we need to do so with thanksgiving in our hearts because God has given us so much. But I believe we can’t have a true attitude of thanksgiving if we are not reaching out to those who are less fortunate than we are. 

This Thanksgiving, many people will sit down to eat a meal while their hearts are crying out. They will not be enjoying the benefits of this great salvation that God has given us, and there will be no joy of thanksgiving in their hearts. 

If you and I had not learned the truth of God’s Word, God only knows where we would be today. We need to be thankful every day that Jesus Christ was born, that He died for our sins, and that He rose again. Every day we need to be thankful for His amazing grace!

Thanksgiving should not be something that we celebrate just one day of the year. Thanksgiving with God should be 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, and 60 seconds a minute. With every tick of the clock, with every breath we breathe, there should be thanksgiving in our hearts!