The Joy of Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was a very different experience. Whether because I’m older, or because I’ve been pondering the idea of giving thanks for a while, the entire experience has left me feeling in awe of God and how good He is.

I don’t know about anyone else, but the last few years have been very difficult. However, through this past month, as I’ve been ruminating and teaching on Thankfulness and then going through Thanksgiving with my beloved family, there have been a few things that I’d like share with you. I realize that Thanksgiving is over, but in reality, it’s never really over, if you have the right mindset.

The Reason for Giving Thanks

At the beginning of the month, I led a meeting for Verdant Life Ministries, the young adult group that I help run. The point of the night was discovering and focusing on the true reason that we should give thanks. There were some great responses – God, our family, our friends, our purpose and calling – but none of them where what I was looking for.

I tied the premise into my post “The Joy in the Mess,” which I wrote back in early 2020, before the pandemic hit and everything was shut down. In it, I wrote:

“A friend of mine and I were recently talking about life… As a very jocular and outgoing sort of person, he commented that..I always seemed like I had the weight of the world weighing on my shoulders. “In your prayer life,” he questioned me, “Do you ever focus on the joy of the Lord?”

I told him that yes, I did, occasionally. He encouraged me to think about it more, and the conversation drifted to other things. A week later, I was still thinking heavily about it, and I began to write..

What is joy?

The following day, I talked with God about it, and was reminded of how much we’ve been saved from. I listened to a song that helped me incredibly last semester, Redeemed, by Influence Music…

“Believe me ’cause I would know
I was that wounded one
I was that prodigal
I was that wayward son
How did I even live
Before I knew life above
What a beautiful life it is
I was redeemed by love”

What a mystery it is, that we are redeemed by love. Only one person had enough love to give us everything, in order that we would be redeemed. That – that is cause for joy.”

This was the point I tried to establish, that no matter what we may have or may be taken from us, we have one thing that will never be taken – our salvation. That, and that alone, is the foundation of our joy and our thankfulness, and from that, all other things that we are thankful for become even more wondrous to us.

That’s the first lesson I’ve learned this month, that no matter what, I will always be able to say, “Thank You,” to God, not because of how blessed I am, but because my name is “written in the book of life.” (Luke 10:20). Everything past that is just more reasons to celebrate.

The Faithfulness of God

As I sat around the Thanksgiving table with my extended family, dinner finished, we started going around the table, but instead of sharing what we were thankful for, we talked about what God has been teaching us over the past two years.

Through it all was a reoccurring thread; the wonderful, persistent and magnificent faithfulness of God. And as much I loved sharing, I loved listening more, to all of the times that God shown himself faithful. Not only was it encouraging, it reminded me of times in my own life that God had been faithful in the same way.

In the same way, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read my journals, especially at my prayers, and see how God answered them. Looking back at our lives can often be another precursor and reason for giving thanks. In the same way, listening to what others have gone through gives us an even fuller picture of how big and awesome our God is. He doesn’t just care for one or two, but for us all!

What Really Matters

Like I said at the beginning, this year was different, I think in large part because I have a greater appreciation for this season. Instead of the Christmas rush of presents, church meetings, shoveling snow and trying to be festive, there’s an air of peace that surround our Thanksgiving gathering. It’s a time to come and take a breath. There’s no tension of politics, no fights of theology (even if there are disagreements) and we are allowed to have space to breath. Whether that continues, we will see, but at the moment, it’s something that I greatly appreciate.

With that being said, it leads to the next thing I considered, which was, of course, priorities. A proper view of the things that truly matter brings us to a proper view of giving thanks and a proper expression of that thanks.

What are your priorities? When you’re thankful, what’s the innermost thing that you’re thankful for?

The good Christian answer, naturally, is to say God and salvation (you can just read above for that one!), but another thing that I’m truly grateful for, especially this year, is community.

The Comfort and Call of Community

This weekend, I was blessed to see a very unique and special kind of community that has grown up around me during my time at Liberty University.

“It started small, just two or three
But now it’s grown into a family
So I’ll support you, and you’ll support me
Because that’s the role of community”
~Community, by Elijah Southwick (unreleased)

Community, when properly formed, will do two things. Now, there’s a lot of things, but I’m going to focus on two.

First, it will be a safe place. That’s what I mean when I talk about the comfort. Like my family by blood, a strong community is where you can enter and be able to take a breath.

Second, however, is that community will push you further and call you higher. As Hebrews 10:24 says, it will “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

But the beauty of a strong community is that there will not be one singular individual bringing comfort or calling others higher. Each one takes part in the process, as each has ability. Everyone takes part in ministering to each other.

I’ll share an example. On Sunday night, I asked if we could all come together and play music, because I haven’t had a jam session with them in so long. We played a few songs, and then I started playing the chorus to “Build My Life.”

To me, I played it because I like how it sounds and just wanted to play it. As I played, though, I looked up and found everyone worshiping beyond what I felt in my heart. Here I was, facilitating a place of ministry without knowing it, and then was, in turn, ministered to as my friend began to pray and speak truth over all of us.

I don’t know how long we stayed with that song, but I know that the moment stuck with me.

My actions – not even attempting to do anything other than play – allowed God to minister to the group, who He then used to minister to me in return.

That’s what I long for when I think of “community.” God-centered, allowing us to breathe, while always pushing us into a deeper relationship with God and with each other.

The Conclusion

The true reason for giving thanks, very simply is that we have been saved, and our salvation is in Heaven, not here on Earth.

While on the mortal realm, our God is faithful to provide what we need when we need it, even if it’s not what we think it might be at the moment. Looking at how God has been faithful in the past allows us to give thanks and know that He will continue to be faithful.

As we faithfully follow God, we can examine our priorities figure out what’s most important to us.

For me, personally, a great thing that I am thankful for is community. Community is to be a safe place, but also a place where you are called higher and to do more. In a strong community, it does not fall to one person to uplift and minister, but all people involved are members in bringing people together and ministering.

What are you thankful for in this turbulent year?