Are You Bracing For or Embracing the Holiday Season?
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The importance of thankfulness
As the end of the year holiday season gets in full swing, I know it’s not a time of pure joy for everyone. My family and I look forward to all the festivities and food, but I realize many people struggle with various concerns, hurts, and memories as the holidays hit full stride.
This got me thinking of the importance of thankfulness during my own times of trials and testing. I remember going through a dark, nebulous season early in my faith journey. We were newly married and my wife was pregnant with our firstborn. I worked as a janitor for minimum wage at the church where we served.
Somewhere along the way, I remember hearing that if I realized why I was going through a trial and acknowledged it to the Lord, I’d experience renewed joy and peace. I’m unsure where I got that notion, but the Lord graciously corrected it.
The Lord was indeed refining my faith and dealing with a wrong attitude in my heart. So, when I made things right in my heart with the Lord, I expected the dark fog to lift. It didn’t. This puzzled me.
It was no coincidence that I was reading through the Psalms in my morning devotions. One morning, as I read through Psalms 107, I began to get a clue.
This psalm was likely written during or soon after the seventy-year exile of Israel from their homeland. It’s a historical reminder of how the Lord intervened to rescue Israel from their self-made troubles over and over. It begins with a refrain that is repeated several times.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. (Psalms 107:1-3 NKJV)
Each time the Lord’s people cry out for deliverance (see verses 6, 13, 19, 28), this refrain is repeated with an exhortation related to the Lord’s rescue (see Psalms 107:15-16, 21-22, 31-32). The psalm ends with this final exhortation—
Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. (Psalm 107:43)
I encourage you this Thanksgiving season to be thankful regardless of your circumstances or memories of previous holidays. Read through Psalms 107 prayerfully and note this reminder to offer a “sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Even though you may not feel thankful, be thankful, it will help you embrace the holiday season.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing. (Psalm 107:21-22)
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Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me. I will let everyone who continues in my way see the salvation that comes from God.” (Psalms 50:23 GW)
Enter his gates with a song of thanksgiving. Come into his courtyards with a song of praise. Give thanks to him; praise his name. The Lord is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness endures throughout every generation. (Psalms 100:4-5 GW)
Here are some previous posts for Thanksgiving that may encourage you too!
