Giving Thanks – Not Just Reserved For Thanksgiving

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.’ (1 Chronicles 16:34); ‘A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.’ (Proverbs 11:25)

We recently as a church family received the ‘gift’ of fellowship from ‘Texans on Mission’ Disaster Relief, due to the double whammy we received from Hurricanes Helene and Milton just in the span of a three-week period.  Prior to this, in 2022 we had the blessing of Florida Baptist Disaster Relief being on our campus for a bit over a month over the damage left by Hurricane Ian.  Thankfully, the Lord provides these people when such disasters take place, and thankfully we have people in our congregation who go and serve as part of FBDR when other areas are hit with disasters, such as when Helene made landfall in our Big Bend region near Perry, Florida. 

It is also a call for thanksgiving to the Lord, who provides these people and their resources to go and serve others when the needs are great.  When we find in our own strength we are inadequate, God shows that through fellowship, believers can come together in one body to make up for our weakness and bolster us to move forward. Thanksgiving, that holiday that is coming up a month from now, is for giving thanks to our Lord Jesus for everything He provides.  However, giving thanks is or should not be a once-a-year event but something that should be 24/7/365 (366 on leap years). 

Jesus gave His all for us, so we should be thankful all the time for Him.  Christmas, in the sense of it being the ‘season of giving’, is also not just one time a year but should also be all the time.  This doesn’t not mean you have to give physical gifts or things of monetary value every day.  You have time, talent, and treasure that you can share, for the cause of the Gospel of Jesus as well as for the benefit of others. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but God never promises happiness but He does promise Joy.  Joy is being content regardless of the situation at hand.  We usually become cynical in the ways of the Lord because we lose contentment.  We see this in Sarah, who wasn’t content to leave well enough alone and handed over her housemaid Hagar over to Abraham so he could have a male heir.  Obviously, this in turn caused lots of problems for Abe, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael back then, and the turmoil between the Israelis and Arabs today.  Sarah loved God, but wasn’t content to allow Him to work on His schedule so she forced her way upon the situation and caused more problems for everyone.

Calling a friend, writing a letter to an old colleague (perhaps an e-mail may suffice), or dropping by to check on a relative or old neighbor are things that are free with the only cost being a little bit of time.  Helping a neighbor with a chore caused by one of the hurricanes or sharing some dinner with them is not something that would be in a secular sense valuable.  But it would be of value in someone’s life who has been away from others.  Give a little time and it may be that boost someone needs to get them going again.  Generosity is not simply picking up the check (though if you can do that – great!); it can be offering just to meet someone for lunch – and go ‘Dutch’ (pay your share) – so you can find out how they’re doing. 

It is not always the food drives or donations to good causes that help someone the most, but the sharing of time, and the Gospel, with them that would give them the best gift of all, the One who we celebrate in this time of year that is upcoming (and who we should celebrate all year long), Jesus!  Be content, give thanks for the Lord and His plans and His ways.  Be thankful for Him, not only in prayer but in action, by allowing Him to do His work and His plan to play out. 

Tune into the Holy Spirit so when you need to act, the Spirit will give you the cue to do what the Lord needs, not based on your ‘want’.  Look for that which you can be thankful for, pray for the Lord to work in what you may not think to be thankful for, and pray for the Lord to provide you wisdom to know the difference!