Thanksgiving. However far from “normal” your Thanksgiving celebration looks and feels this year, the constant is the extra emphasis on gratitude. It’s a social convention I personally find overblown, but it serves the purpose of reminding us to be thankful at least once a year, and that’s worth mentioning anyway.
As we anticipate and prepare for the feast ahead, my attention has been drawn again and again to Psalm 136. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about it, but this week I’ve been thinking not only about the Lord’s enduring covenant-keeping love, but also about the beginning of the psalm: “Give thanks”. Really, that’s what the entire song is about: give thanks to the Lord, for all of these reasons.
Verse 4 in particular has returned to my thoughts often: “to him who alone does great wonders”. Our Lord truly is the only one who does great wonders, and the psalmist continues on and lists a goodly number of those great wonders which the Lord has done, particularly for the people of Israel.
I’m not a big fan of traditions or activities like this, but over the next few days, as we gather (appropriately socially-distanced in limited numbers, of course) and celebrate and rest, it’s my intention to use this psalm as a guide and personalize it, to thank the Lord for the specific great wonders and mighty acts which I have witnessed in my family over the last several months. I invite you to do so along with me, as you are able. “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. If you decide to join me on this exercise in gratitude, let me know about it! Send me an email or comment here with one great wonder you’ve seen the Lord do in the last year.
I have learned over these past several months to be thankful for more of the little things that I used to take for granted. I am especially blessed to see faith in action in the fellowship at church and see people uplifting each other.