Thanksgiving Days for Us All!
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands from the east and from the west from the north and from the south…Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!...Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders.” (Psalm 107: 1-3, 8, 15, 21, 31-32).
Thanksgiving Day is coming and I would give this holiday a grade of F—family, food, football!!! No other holiday combines all of those quite as well as this day. It promises to be a great Thanksgiving Day for all of these reasons combined. If I were to go back and look at the photo evidence of past Thanksgiving Days, I am sure I could specify some days as more special than others. For the purposes of this article, I want to highlight 3 great Thanksgiving Days in Biblical noting their connection to us in the Christian era. All three of these days are recorded in the Old Testament.
The first Thanksgiving Day was the day that the children if Israel came out of Egyptian bondage. They had crossed the Red Sea and the army of Egypt was destroyed. They broke into song. Moses and the people praised the God of heaven for His powerful display in destroying the army, for His glorious display of Himself to His people, and for the reputation of His great name as the nations of the world heard of His actions (Exodus 15:1-18). This was a day of deliverance. It was their birthday as His people.
We, too, have been delivered. Peter writes, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The day of our baptism was also our birthday.
The second Thanksgiving Day was the day that the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to God’s people. It had been in hiatus in the land of the Philistines for 7 months. It had been in a the house of Abinadab for 20 years! Now, it was coming home! David led a great procession singing songs of thanksgiving because the symbol of the glory was coming home! It was a day of provision.
We, too, understand God’s provisions. Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…” (Ephesians 1:3). Peter added that we have “…all things that pertain to life and godliness…” (II Peter 1:3).
The third Thanksgiving Day was the day was the restoration of God’s people to their land after spending 70 years in Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah 12 records the thanksgiving of the people for having been restored.
We, too, have been restored. We have experience with the very words of John in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” For all of these things, thank you Lord!
There is no greater joy than working for the Lord. It is an honor and a blessing to serve the Lord with the group of Christians who work together as members of the Richmond church of Christ. We (Erika, Dave, David, and Mike) are thankful for so many things in our individual lives, but each one of us can truly say that our thankfulness is richer and deeper because of the wonderful people of God with whom we serve on a daily basis. May God’s richest blessings be with all of you and may you remain faithful to Him who has given us all so much!
— Mike Johnson
