The Thanksgiving of Thanksgivings
by Christopher Hendrix
Will this Thanksgiving be the best of Thanksgivings? How is this even judged? Is it the amount of food? Is it the company you are with or not with? Is it if your football team wins? Or maybe it's how you wake up feeling that day? The world says all these things are the standard of a good Thanksgiving Day. However, Christians can see the Scriptures say something different. What makes this Thanksgiving the best from other Thanksgivings hinges upon God's Sovereignty. You may ask then, but God doesn't change, right? Shouldn't all Thanksgivings be equal if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? God doesn't change, but the difference involves our understanding and response to His Sovereignty. Do we honor God as God more than last Thanksgiving? Growing in thankfulness to God is what makes Thanksgiving better than previous Thanksgivings.
Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on Genesis 9:1-17.
A measuring rod of the Christian's growth in holiness involves giving thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says,
"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Likewise, Ephesians 5:20 says,
"Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father."
We give thanks for everything! We give thanks for special events such as promotions, rewards, successes, bonuses, vacations, births, marriages, and even when that first grey hair comes up. We give thanks to the mundane things such as the paycheck that comes into the account twice a month, the car that starts upon turning the ignition, the trip to work and back home along the same unchanging route and even the one thousandth diaper change. We ought to give thanks for everything in our life that continues to function correctly and 'normal.' We give thanks for trials and tribulations. James 1:2–4 says,
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
We give thanks for our sufferings and hardships. This may be the most challenging because we do everything to escape our hurt. The last thing we think about is to give thanks. Yet, the Lord calls us to do this very thing.
What's the purpose of the giving of thanks? To glorify the Lord! The Christian's thanks brings the Lord glory. This is because Thanksgiving is an acknowledgment of God's Sovereignty. Thanksgiving is an act that says we are not the source of who we are, what we have, or what we do. Only One claims this power: the Triune God—the One we worship with Thanksgiving. Through Thanksgiving, we proclaim our inability and God's capability. Through gratitude, we exercise humility in light of God's authority. To put it simply, we honor God as God.
Every year, when we give thanks with an even more humble heart, greater gratitude, and a more acute awareness of His goodness, we know the Spirit has been up to something in our lives this past year. He has been sanctifying us and drawing us into holiness. When we arrive at this realization, then what's our response? Thankfulness!
So, is this year the Thanksgiving of all Thanksgivings? Judge by these questions: Do you desire to glorify God more now than in previous years? Are you more thankful to Him because you've grown in understanding His Sovereignty? Do you honor God as God in more of your life? Do you know God and respond with humility now more than ever? Do you react with more thankfulness than ever in your life? If the answer is yes to these, rest assured, this will be The Thanksgiving of all Thanksgivings.