Tuesday, November 25, 2025

BE THANKFUL (I Chronicles 16:43)

                                           BE THANKFUL! ( I Chronicles 16:23-36)

 Recently, I was having a conversation with one of my friends, from India, and my former Mission's leader. He, too, moved to the  USA in 2008 with their three children. He and I recounted our earlier struggles and our ongoing health issues. While sharing how hard life in the USA had been for him, he said, "The Lord brought me to a land of plenty and made me empty to teach me what truly matters in life and to reveal Himself as the only source of all that I need."

Only those who move from other countries into the USA can understand what it is to live in a land of plenty, devoid of meaningful relationships, struggling to make ends meet, unable to find adequate jobs that match their education back in their home countries, not being able to send their children to good schools, and on top of that, inadequate healthcare etc. My friend and I have pondered our losses as we uprooted ourselves from India, as well as the things we have gained.

Those of us who were born and grew up here, earned degrees, and live comfortable lives may not understand the struggles of immigrants. Maybe the Lord should take you to Haiti, or to the DR, or to any one of the poorer countries to teach you how to value things and be grateful.

Most of us agree that we have a lot to be thankful for. We live a lifestyle full of conveniences. We live in comfortable homes, wear nice clothes, drive big cars, and we have clean water to drink and healthy food to eat. We have access to quality healthcare and good education. We live in freedom, safety, comfort, and security. Yet we take these wonderful blessings for granted and complain about what we don't have. Instead, how about giving thanks?

Millions of people worldwide live without basic necessities, such as food, clean water, clothing, and health care. G.K. Chesterton puts it mathematically: "Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." Wilma gave me a blog post by Michele Morin, a grandmother, about doubling your happiness, in which she reflects on the connection and fun she had with all her eight grandkids. She has some insightful things to say about "Wonder."

Wonder asks, "Why is God so generous with me?" "How could this glorious thing have been given on top of so many other blessings?" The practice of wonder is a gateway to some very profitable wondering. Sadly, we are prone to wondering "up," comparing our own lot with people who have "more" possessions, more influence, more opportunity. In 21st-century North America, we've forgotten how to wonder "down."

 

Here's the difference: Wondering up asks, "Why don't I live in a luxurious place, with a swimming pool, like my next-door neighbor? Wondering down asks, "Why do I get to have clean water to drink and hot water with the turn of a faucet when millions do not?" Wondering up leads to discontentment. Wondering down leads to Gratitude."[1] How about you today, are you wondering up or wondering down? Are you greedy for more? Or are you full of Thanksgiving?

 

During this Thanksgiving week, let's explore whether Thanksgiving has become a mere commercialized American tradition or a biblical command that should be obeyed and practiced by God's children. We will also look at the emotional, mental, and physical benefits of Thanksgiving and how we can grow in Gratitude in our individual lives and as Hope Church.

I. God's abundant resources and His strategy to solve the World's Hunger.

Who do you think owns all of the air space, the universe,  the stars, the Moon and the Sun, all the mountains, the land, the rivers, the oceans, the minerals, cultivation, the wild animals, the fish in the waters? Which one person or country has a monopoly over these resources? If you are honest, you would be quiet, then say, "GOD!" You are 100% right.

Psalm 95:1-7 tells us that we are to come before him and sing for Joy with Thanksgiving, and extol him with music and song. He is the great God, and great King above all gods. Everything on the earth is in His hands. We are his pasture and flock under His care. Our fitting response to such an awesome God is to bow before Him on our knees and worship Him.

If you are still not convinced, let's look at the following scriptures, Ps 24:1: "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it." Deut 10:14, "To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it." Job 41:11, "Who has claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heavens belongs to me." Who can argue with God? This little book, The Service Berry, taught me about a culture of Gratitude. The Native Americans have understood what it means to be grateful and to share their resources with others.

Let me read a few thoughts on Gratitude and Economy: "Enumerating the gifts you've received creates a sense of abundance, the knowing that you already have what you need—recognizing 'Enoughness 'is a radical act in an economy that is always urging us to consume more. Data tells the story that there are "enough food calories on the planet for all 8 billion of us to be nourished. And yet people are starving. Imagine the outcome if we each took only enough, rather than far more than our share. The wealth and security we seem to crave could be found in sharing what we have. Ecopyschologists have shown that the practice of Gratitude puts the brakes on hyper consumption."[2]

 

When I read that, I had an Aha! Moment. I thought here is a strategy that is neither a Republican's, a Democrat's, nor any other human being's strategy to solve the world's hunger. It is God's strategy, successfully employed thousands of years ago, that fed over a million men, women, children, and cattle for forty years in the wilderness. I call this "Manna Strategy." I wish the economists and the world leaders would pay attention to it. Exodus 16:1-30

II. Biblical Mandate  and Practice of Thanksgiving

Whose idea is Thanksgiving? In his last sermon to the freed slaves, Moses encouraged them to be thankful to God when they reached the promised land. Deut 8:7-10, "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

 

The verbs to confess, to praise, to sing, and to give thanks come from the same Hebrew word Yadah. The secondary meaning of Yadah is the expression of thanks to God through praise. Praise leads to Thanksgiving. The name Judah also comes from the same root.

Here is how praise leads to Thanksgiving: 2 Chronicles 20:21. "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever." A beautiful tradition of giving thanks or saying grace before meals has been passed on to us from the OT. Matthew records two instances in which, before feeding the crowds, Jesus gave thanks and broke the bread and the fish. (Matthew 14:15-21; 15:32-38).

Giving thanks before a meal was Jesus' customary practice. In Luke 24:13-35, on the day of Jesus' resurrection, Jesus joins two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. Once they arrive at Emmaus, Jesus stops to eat with them. At the table, Jesus "took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them" (v. 30). The disciples' eyes were opened and they recognized Him.

If you are not in the habit of giving thanks to God, start at mealtime, as it provides an excellent opportunity to pause and be grateful to God for the food we are about to eat. But not only for food, but for every perfect gift that comes from our Father. James 1:17. We praise and give glory to God because, as it reads in Romans 11:36, "For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

III. How can we grow in Gratitude?

Thanksgiving is a very significant aspect of God's people in the Bible. To an extent, God ordained thank offerings in Lev 7:11-12. Thanksgiving is not optional; it is God's will for His followers. I Thes 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Our biblical ancestors recognized the significance of Thanksgiving. The secular world acknowledges its emotional, mental, and physical benefits.

 

I suggest we start from now and be thankful to God for everything. Here are five ways you can grow in Gratitude and experience the Joy and the contentment of the Lord in your life.

 

1. Recognizing whatever is good and perfect comes from God our Father. James 1:17

2. Praising God for the things we have and stop complaining about what we don't have. Ps 103:2

3. Don't rush! Pause! Thank and praise God before or after each meal. Deuteronomy 8:10-18

4. As with everything, ask God to produce in us a generous heart of Thanksgiving. II Cor 9:11

5. Learn to say Enough! You can not be grateful unless you are content. II Tim 6:6-10.

 

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