It’s important to give thanks for His blessings on this national holiday

Which is your favorite holiday? Christmas? Easter? Thanksgiving? Perhaps you know that Thanksgiving is different from these other holidays. Christmas and Easter celebrate events of importance in Scripture. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and Easter His rising from the dead. But Thanksgiving does not celebrate a specific scriptural event. Thanksgiving is a national holiday and was established by decree of our country’s leaders, by decree of congress and various presidents.

Have you ever read the decree of George Washington that established the first Thanksgiving celebration for our country?

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid and favors. . .Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which H has been pleased to confer upon us.” — George Washington, 1789

So, the Thanksgiving holiday is an opportunity to remember all the grace and goodness of God, especially His eternal grace and love in Jesus. As we are told in the Psalms, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1 and other psalms). God is so good, and we have so many reasons for thanks!

But, Thanksgiving is also perhaps especially an opportunity to give thanks for the temporal blessings God has given us in our country. The Thanksgiving holiday is also an opportunity to pray for God’s continued grace and direction and blessings on our country.

God has blessed people of all times in the countries where they live. Governments are established to provide law and order so that God’s people can live as His children. And, every land has good things to provide to its inhabitants, as God Himself provides daily bread.

But, living in our country, in the United States of America, and celebrating a holiday established by our own government, what blessings cause you to give thanks for this land and for this country? Giving thanks for our own country can be dangerous, because we could end up patting ourselves on the back in pride, rather than giving humble thankfulness to God for His goodness.

But, there are obvious blessings we have received in America. So, for which blessings through our country are you thankful? For the wealth of the land? For the opportunity for prosperity?

The words of the Declaration of Independence point me to the greatest reason I praise God in our nation. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Personally, I am thankful for freedom, for the freedom of speech, for the freedom of the press, for the freedom to assemble. I am especially thankful for the freedom to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, as Jesus calls us to do in John 4.

Here is why that is so important to me. In 2 Timothy 2:2 God calls us to pray for our leaders “so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” God intends for government to provide citizens the opportunity for peaceful and quiet lives so that we can then worship and serve our Lord in godliness and holiness. The freedom to worship accomplishes God’s intent for government, so that we Americans then have the opportunity to do what God intends for us to do, to worship and serve Him. Thank you, Lord, for these freedoms!

Thanksgiving Day is not so much a religious holiday as a national holiday. Nevertheless, it is good to give thanks to God for His blessings in our country. And, it is good to pray for God’s direction, His grace, and His continued blessings for our country.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer.