Pull Up A Seat

“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth”


Psalm 104:14


It’s November and that means Thanksgiving is just around the corner. The words thanks and Thanksgiving can be seen everywhere this month. From cards to cake decorations the reminders are all around us. The Bible has literally hundreds of references for the word thanks and thanksgiving as it is a common theme from Genesis to Revelation. Though giving thanks and being thankful aren’t new, it wasn’t until the civil war did the idea for a national day of Thanksgiving come about. That knowledge makes the words of Abraham Lincoln who signed the proclamation that would pave the way for a day of Thanksgiving to become a national holiday are important to keep in mind as we prepare for this very special day later this month. As we recall why Thanksgiving came about we do well to remember, “history not learned from tends to repeat itself.”

Just a portion of what President Lincoln wrote on November 3, 1863 in his proclamation states, “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

First and foremost Thanksgiving is more than a big meal around a table. It was intended to be a national day of observance, penitence and restoration. Thanksgiving is a day set aside to remember the bountiful blessings of God and to humbly repent for our selfishness and lack of care for those in need around us. Thanksgiving is a day where we set out to experience restoration in our country by taking an active role in healing the hurts of the injured and oppressed among us which results in unity and a reason for celebration. Thanksgiving feasts all throughout the Bible are the result of forgiveness and restoration which gives birth to peace, harmony and joy. If there ever was a time in the history of our country we need to experience a national day of Thanksgiving the way Lincoln intended it to be, this is the year. It’s important to note Lincoln wrote this proclamation in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War.

Fast forward. Do you want to make the most of your Thanksgiving this year? Here are the key ingredients needed. Begin by asking God to forgive you for any role you have played this past year in our countries national perverseness and disobedience. (If you are unsure just ask God to show you). More than being sorry, look for tangible ways to demonstrate the fruit of repentance by seeking reconciliation. That was Lincolns heart for this day of national celebration and he even provided some suggestions that each of us can employ that would serve to bring about the national “full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union.”  Lincoln wrote that we should in celebrating Thanksgiving, “commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged.” To put it simply, to capture the spirit of Thanksgiving we need to repent before God and then allow God to lead us in “finding a hurt and healing it, and finding a need and filling it.” Imagine a world where everyone spent just one day committing themselves to God and to one another. Happy Thanksgiving!

“So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.”

2 Samual 9:13



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