Great Plains Daily Devotional for 11/24/2022: Luke 1:49-53

Give thanks with a grateful heart 
Give thanks to the Holy One 
Give thanks because He's given 
Jesus Christ, His Son 

Give thanks with a grateful heart 
Give thanks to the Holy One 
Give thanks because He's given 
Jesus Christ, His Son 

And now let the weak say, "I am strong" 
Let the poor say, "I am rich" 
Because of what the Lord has done for us 

And now let the weak say, "I am strong" 
Let the poor say, "I am rich" 
Because of what the Lord has done for us 

Give thanks 

~Henry Smith, 1979  (based on Luke 1:49-53) 

It’s Thanksgiving Day. For some of us it’s a day of gathering with family and friends for a traditional feast of turkey and all the trimmings. For others it’s all about 10 hours of football games. For some, it’s about serving Thanksgiving dinner in a community setting to those who would otherwise be alone today – or who do not have the means to have such a meal on their own. Some will spend the day working because their jobs are essential every day. And still others will spend the day alone – by circumstance or by choice.

By whatever means we celebrate this day, though, most of us will only briefly reflect upon the reasons we have to be thankful on this day, myself included. Yet the whole idea of a day of thanksgiving is that giving thanks is an integral part of the day. Ideally, we would do this every day, but none of us is as good at giving thanks to God as we ought to be. 

I was mindful of this on Sunday as we sang traditional Thanksgiving hymns in the worship service I attend. “Come, Ye Thankful People Come” reminded me that Thanksgiving had its roots in a celebration of the harvest that would feed the people of Plymouth Colony through the winter after months of hunger and looming death the previous year. The Pilgrim fathers and mothers were thankful.

And then, the organist played an arrangement of “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” (quoted above) for the offertory. It is a song I used often in planning worship during my years as an active pastor, not just at Thanksgiving but throughout the year.

I love this chorus that reflects how richly God has blessed us – and continues to bless us. The simplicity of the words speaks deeply to me. Give thanks. That’s it. Just give thanks every day for what we have – and for what will come. God blesses us, every day, in ways expected and unexpected. Give thanks to God – today and every day. 
 

Prayer for Reflection

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Luke 1:68-79
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43