On My Mind...
In a few days families will be gathering around tables burdened with choice foods. There will be laughter and celebration. There will be a prayer of thanksgiving, following the “amen” forks and elbows will fly and within a few minutes the fruit of weeks of planning and days of preparation will be devoured. Immediately following the meal kids will want to play. Father’s will plop into a recliner and wonder why they ate so much. When the kids ask dad to play – he must excuse himself for fear he will explode! When the clean-up is done, other exhausted family members fall into chairs and onto sofas. And we all breathe a heavy sigh, another Thanksgiving has passed. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but holidays do seem to become routine. We often find ourselves just going through the motions. But maybe the problem is not with the holiday, maybe it’s that we fail to recognize our need to live a life of perpetual gratitude. A spirit of thanksgiving is to permeate our lives as the people of God. We don’t need to be told to be thankful one day out of the year, we are to live each day in gratitude for God’s abundant blessing. We are to reflect the attitude of the psalmist as found in Psalm 65.
While this psalm could be sung anytime in Israel, and no doubt was, it most likely was composed as part of the annual harvest festival, The Feast of Tabernacles. Tabernacles was the longest and most joyful feast of the Jews. It began on the 15th day of the seventh month and continued until the twenty-second day of the month. The eight-day celebration was in gratitude to God for the harvest just gathered. The psalmist reminds us, we have much to be grateful for. He makes it clear that our God deserves our praise and is worthy of our thanks because of who He is and for what He has done. We praise and give thanks for our salvation (1-4), for His great power that causes all to stand in awe of Him (5-8), and His bountiful provision (9-13). As you take stock of this past year, there is ample reason to give thanks. As you gather with family this week take a moment to give thanks for God’s gift of salvation, His power and might expressed on your behalf and His abundant provision. It’s good that we set aside a day for thanksgiving, but it is better that we approach all of life with an attitude of gratitude. Every day is a day for giving thanks. I pray that you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. And remember moderation is a good thing, don’t overdo it on the food. Me? Do what I say, not what I do! Okay, me too.
Have a blessed week, and I’ll see you Sunday.
Rod
While this psalm could be sung anytime in Israel, and no doubt was, it most likely was composed as part of the annual harvest festival, The Feast of Tabernacles. Tabernacles was the longest and most joyful feast of the Jews. It began on the 15th day of the seventh month and continued until the twenty-second day of the month. The eight-day celebration was in gratitude to God for the harvest just gathered. The psalmist reminds us, we have much to be grateful for. He makes it clear that our God deserves our praise and is worthy of our thanks because of who He is and for what He has done. We praise and give thanks for our salvation (1-4), for His great power that causes all to stand in awe of Him (5-8), and His bountiful provision (9-13). As you take stock of this past year, there is ample reason to give thanks. As you gather with family this week take a moment to give thanks for God’s gift of salvation, His power and might expressed on your behalf and His abundant provision. It’s good that we set aside a day for thanksgiving, but it is better that we approach all of life with an attitude of gratitude. Every day is a day for giving thanks. I pray that you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. And remember moderation is a good thing, don’t overdo it on the food. Me? Do what I say, not what I do! Okay, me too.
Have a blessed week, and I’ll see you Sunday.
Rod