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Thanksgiving Lesson: The Power of Remembrance

Have you ever noticed the placement of Thanksgiving on our calendar? It's right when winter has begun to settle upon us with cold winds, bare trees, and brown landscapes, that we as a nation celebrate a day of Thanksgiving. It would seem more natural to give thanks when spring flowers are in full bloom or when the first crops of the summer are brought into our barns. But instead, we offer thanks at the beginning of the bleakest part of the year.

I believe that the placement of this holiday is no accident. God gave us seasons in order to teach us about His ways. In fact, I find it fascinating that Genesis 1:14 tells us that God first gave the sun, moon, and stars, not as lights for earth, but for signs and seasons. The secondary blessing is that they give us light! But the Lord first intended the natural seasons of the world to be a podium where lessons are taught. He shows us things in the natural in order to teach us spiritual truths (1 Cor. 15:46)

So, what is the lesson here for us? It's 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything, give thanks." Consider the author who penned these words. Paul was a man who was beaten, stoned, ship-wrecked, left for dead, hungry, naked, and countless other travesties, all for the sake of the gospel. Yet, he is the one who told us:
  • Do all things without grumbling or complaining (Phil. 2:14)
  • Rejoice in the Lord at all times (Phil. 4:4)
  • Don't be anxious about anything, but make your requests to God with thanks (Phil. 4:6)
  • Continue earnestly in prayer with thanksgiving (Col. 4:2)
  • Rejoice. Always. (1 Thess. 5:16)
This same man sang from prison cells, went back into the cities that persecuted him, and used his own arrests as pulpits for the gospel. Paul said that he learned to be content no matter what season of life he was facing (Phil. 4:11). Notice the scripture says he learned how to be content. Over the course of his walk with Christ, Paul learned little by little, how to trust God's hand in every season of life.

So, how do we learn to be content in every season, giving thanks no matter the circumstance? One simple way is through the power of remembrance. By simply recalling all of God's goodness, His attributes, and His faithfulness, our eyes are lifted off of our present circumstances and onto His greatness. We must choose to remember blessing. We must choose to remember glory. We must make the choice. Psalm 77 is a wonderful example of this.  Five times in this psalm, the author pens, "I will remember". He says,  "I will remember God. I will remember my song. I will remember the years of blessing from God. I will remember the works of the Lord. I will remember His wonders of old." The psalmist makes a choice to recall the nature and the workings of God, and this choice changes, not the circumstances, but the attitude and heart of the writer. 

In a book called Lamentations...Lamentations, for goodness sake!...Jeremiah rises out of his sadness with this seed of truth. In 3:21 he says, "Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail...". It's in the bleakest parts of our lives when we would do well, like Jeremiah, to recall the never ending compassion, lovingkindness, and faithfulness of our God.

Nestled into the bitter, wintry season of November, is a day of remembering all of God's blessings. This day shines as an example of choosing to stop and build a feast of thanksgiving and praise, even in the midst of increasing cold. Every time you and I give thanks at the remembrance of God's goodness, we find ourselves sheltered from the bitterness life brings in the warmth of His love, seated at a feast of His blessings. This year, let's carry the feast off our calendar and into our daily lives. In every season's change...yes, in everything...let's give thanks.


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