What Is Thanksgiving?

 Thanksgiving time is upon us!  It is the month where we break out the hoodies, enjoy some fall festivities, and begin to plan for Turkey Day!  Over the past few years though there has been a trend that has been somewhat refreshing to see.  On social media, many people have participated in a “30 Days of Thanks” which is where you post something that you are thankful for each day during the month of November.  This is a wonderful practice to dedicate to and one hopefully that can continue outside of just the month of November.

What does the Bible say about thanksgiving though?  Do we have the right idea when it comes to thanksgiving?

Psalm 100:4 is probably the most famous verse when it comes to thanksgiving in Scripture.  It says, 

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

We are told as a commandment in this Scripture that we are to enter God’s presence not only with a heart of prayer, but a heart of thanksgiving.  What is thanksgiving though?  Have we ever thought to ourselves, what does the very word, “thanksgiving” mean?  

I find it interesting that when we read both the Oxford and Webster definition of thanksgiving that it states that it is an expression of gratitude especially to God.  Even these two sources of intellectual knowledge describe thanksgiving as an act specifically set aside for God.  So, what makes it then so much more special than just being thankful like so many believe.

Let’s look at the word in itself.  Thanks-giving.  We are to be thankful for what has been given unto us.  

When we adapt that way of thinking, I really begin to realize what that means, thanksgiving becomes so much deeper to us.  When we begin to think, “What has God given me?” our hearts become so much fuller realizing that in reality, God has given us everything that we have in our life.  It humbles our hearts and makes us realize that we truly depend on God for even our very lives.

Thanksgiving is a condition of the heart.  It’s so much more than just expressing thanks for something.  I feel that we as a society have watered down thankfulness to an act of politeness and therefore have watered down it’s true meaning and impact.  We are all raised, and rightly so, to say, “thank you” when we receive something.  Even in today’s job market, the phrase, “thank you” usually is spoken at the end of a transaction or inscribed in a signature of an email.  Do we mean it though?  If we answer that honestly, the answer is probably no.  It’s become something that we just say.

Can I challenge us with a thought though?  Have we made the term “thank you” shallow even in our prayers?  This came under heavy conviction in my own heart.  For those of us who have grown up in church or who have been “trained” in the church, it’s easy for us to begin our prayers with phrases of thanksgiving.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a good thing, but as we learn in God’s Word, it’s only a good thing if we mean it from our hearts.  When we tell God, “thank you” for this and “thank you” for that, do we truly mean it with our hearts or is it just vain (useless, no meaning) speech?  

Jesus has harsh words for us when it comes to speaking useless words in our prayers.  Matthew 6:7 says,

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

While we may not have a large audience when we pray alone, we still have an audience.  Of course God listens, but I wonder if when we pray vain words if it is because of our own audience?  Do we say those words just to appease ourselves?  Just to satisfy some inner guilt that we need to be “thankful.”  

I know.  That’s a tough idea for us to think about.  It’s something we need to challenge ourselves with though as Christians because it will cause us to humble ourselves and then we can truly get into a heart of thanksgiving.  

To be truly thankful, it must come from our heart.  The very breath that we breathe comes from God.  The very opportunity we have to express thanks to Him comes from God.  God has literally given us everything and we must have a meaningful heart of thanks unto Him.

A heart of thanksgiving is mandatory for a Christian.  Why wouldn’t it be, since God has given us everything, including eternal life.  

Philippians 4:6 says,  6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

We are to approach prayer with a heart of thanksgiving.  True thanksgiving, so this is needed in our hearts.  

Are you sincere in your thanksgiving?  Have you examined lately all what God has done for you?

That is what we are going to do this month.  I don’t know how God has moved specifically in your life, but I do know how He has moved in mine and I do know what God’s Word has told us that He has done for us.  So, for the next month, we will be going over what God’s Word has said that the Lord has given us, and let us with full hearts, give true thanksgiving unto God.