From Thanksgiving to Thankful Living

We are barely a week away from Thanksgiving…can you believe it?! It is as though I can feel the power of the holiday beckoning me, calling me forward, as a way to remind me not just who I am, but whose I am!

Even though our Thanksgiving holiday is purely American, the notion of giving thanks for our blessings is not. Throughout history, God has called us to pause, identify, and reflect over the many blessings in life. So as we prepare for our Thanksgiving holiday next week, I hope you are getting ready to pause, identify, and reflect over your many blessings.

Speaking of these blessings, I read a quote that gave me pause. W.T. Purkiser once wrote:

Not what we say about our blessings,
but how we use them,
is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.

I love that quote, because it bears the active nature of what should be our Thanksgiving celebration. It isn’t merely about a couple days off from work or school, a giant meal with a turkey cooked by the FOCUS Youth as a centerpiece, or football games galore, but it is about recognizing the blessings in life and doing something with them…not taking them for granted, but allowing them to help us shape the way we serve, share, and shine for the Lord! This view of Thanksgiving should take root in our lives as thankful living.

As we prepare for next week’s holiday, how are you preparing to measure your own Thanksgiving? It is certainly appropriate to pause, identify, and reflect over all God and others have done for us, but consider how you might do something with those blessings for God and others as well. When you do this, your thanksgiving truly shapes your living. Consider the words of Apostle Paul from Colossians 2.6-7:

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (The Message)

It is my heartfelt prayer that you have a blessed and marvelous Thanksgiving! It is also my heartfelt prayer that your thanksgiving spills over into thankful living as you pause, identify, and reflect over your blessings, and then do something with them to make a difference in the world for God and in the lives of others!