Life Marks: A TIME TO GIVE THANKS

I’d like to begin by asking a question: “When is the best time to give thanks?” Our natural inclination is to “give thanks” when things are going well. When we love our job, and job security appears to be intact; when we are able to pay our bills, and on time; and when our children are all “little angels” (of course, only for those with new-borns!). Yes, these are all times to “give thanks.” The truth is, the best time to give thanks is “all the time.” Even when things are not going so well and we are tempted to grumble, that’s when it’s time to “give thanks.”

Why is that? It’s because during those times our faith is both tested and strengthened. During those times, even though we cannot see clearly ahead, we believe that God is both good and wise, and has a plan for us, even in the midst of hardship and trial. It’s during those times that we are confident that with every obstacle we encounter, it has first been filtered through His fingers of love before it shows up on our doorstep.

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner, and we are all busy getting ready to spend time with family and friends to celebrate the goodness of God’s provision for food and the other blessings to life. When we were teaching in China, it is during the fall that the Chinese celebrate what is called the “Mid-Autumn Festival,” or “Moon Festival.” For thousands of years, early Chinese emperors worshiped the moon, praying for a good harvest, and those prayers were believed to be particularly efficacious if offered during the full moon.

This year in China, the Moon Festival was celebrated in early October, and like every year, it is a time of family gatherings and parties, along with eating “mooncakes,” a special round pastry filled with everything from nuts to custard. And when we were teaching, it was always a great opportunity to talk about our own Thanksgiving here in America. Yes, we told them about the early Pilgrims and the Native Americans who helped them bring in their first harvest. And along with our early history, it was important to mention that it wasn’t until 1863, over 200 years later, that our President, Abraham Lincoln, designated the fourth Thursday in November as a day for the nation to “give thanks to God.” And, we have been celebrating it ever since.

But did you know the tragic circumstances that were present at the time this proclamation was declared? It was when the Civil War was still raging, claiming thousands of lives with each battle fought. Yes, it was during the toughest of times that our President decided to pause and give thanks to God, and proclaimed that all future generations should do the same.

In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln, began by outlining the myriad of blessings that God had already bestowed upon the American people (first paragraph below). But he also acknowledged the great sins of the nation (the following paragraph). If you have never read it, I think that you will find it quite interesting. Below is a portion of that Proclamation,

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. 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, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Wow, in good times and in tough times, we are to remember the One who has blessed us so abundantly. Our Chinese students were amazed as we showed this Proclamation on the screen. They had a hard time connecting with the fact that a President would acknowledge the sins of the nation so publicly. With all of the recent political and sexual scandals, it has caused many to realize that our country is once again in crisis, that is, a crisis of morality as well as of faith. We have called “evil” “good” and have justified our sin in the most “creative” of ways. Plain and simple, we have abandoned God and His commandments, the greatest of which is to “Love God, and Love one another.”

And yet, we have so much to be thankful for. I’d like to encourage you as you gather around to share a Thanksgiving meal, take some time to mention some of the blessings that we share as Americans, and if you are also a Christian, remember the spiritual blessings that we have been graciously given by a generous God who loves us, and sent His Son to die for our sins that we might have LIFE, which is both abundant and eternal. And then, take time to pray, asking God, among other things, to “heal our land.”

Peggy and I pray that you have a very special Thanksgiving Day, celebrating with family and friends the provisions of life and the many blessings we have as a nation. And don’t forget to thank Him even for the trials that we face, knowing that He is using them for His purposes, both in our own lives and in the lives of others. 

We are so thankful for each one of you and send our love to all.