You know the picture. The family sitting around the table. Dad standing up with carving tools in hand preparing to offer thanks before everyone digs in. Everyone reverently bows their head offering silent prayers of thanks as Dad prays his rehearsed thanksgiving prayer. I think I saw that in a painting by Norman Rockwell. The traditional American thanksgiving. Add to that two kids tables and a lot of chaotic, joyful, noise and you get the traditional Haynes-Abboud thanksgiving. I love thanksgiving because I am thankful, for God, for family, for friends, and for needs faithfully met.
Close your eyes for a minute. Wait, read this first and then close your eyes. I want you to visualize something wonderful. Come with me to a biblical thanksgiving modeled for us thousands of years before America even colonized. Imagine yourself in Jerusalem ready to make a thank offering to God for all the ways He has blessed you. You walk up the uneven stairs to the “House” of God. You approach in awe and you follow these instructions.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100)
Take note. You are now shouting, worshipping, singing, knowing, entering, and giving. This is an overflow of exuberant joy. This is active and loud, not silent and reverent. Notice what we are focusing on and what we are thankful for:
The Lord God
The Lord God Who Made Us
The Lord God Who Shepherds Us
The Lord God Who Invites Us Into His Gates and His Courts
The Lord God Who is Good
The Lord God Whose Love Endures Forever
The Lord God Who is Faithful to All Generations.
This may sound callous but it is really compassionate. As a person who has experienced loss this year, may I say this from a place of understanding. If the economy has you down, if you lost loved ones this year, if Hurricane Ike is still frustrating you, if you lost a job, or if you are just not where you thought you would be right now in life, marriage, or relationships… You have the one thing that can never be taken a way. The Lord God who made you, leads you, invites you into His presence, is good to you, loves you and is faithful to you and yours. He is the focus of our thanksgiving in the good times and bad times. If your thanksgiving is about bounty, material blessing and positive circumstances you have missed the point entirely.
So do this for me. Take a moment today using Psalm 100 as your guide. Write down all the ways the Lord has shepherded you, loved you, invited you in, and been faithful to you this year. Bring the list to your version of Thanksgiving Day. Read Psalm 100 to your family and read your list. Ask others to offer thanksgivings to the Lord. Then SHOUT to the Lord with Joy. Lead a thanksgiving shout that your family will never forget. Ask everyone to participate in 30 seconds of shouting to the Lord. Talk about a God Moment that your kids will never forget. You have their attention on Thanksgiving. Make the most of it! Celebrate a Thanksgiving of another sort.
Brian Haynes 
That is a great idea. I had to make my list. I’ll write again after the shouting and tell how it went.
Ways the Lord has:
1.Shepherded you:
a.His word has convicted me over and over again. Hebrews 4:12 – it has convicted me that I am not praying and spending time alone with my God like I should be. Through that judging the thoughts and attitudes of my heart has deepened my prayer life.
b.Through various people encouraging me to dig deeper and not waste time, but to make the most of every opportunity. Especially those opportunities with my kids.
c.Through the love and encouragement of my prayerful wife, to be a better leader and shepherd of my family.
2.Loved you:
a.By reminding me in His word how much he truly loves me. Psalm 103
b.Through the love and compassion of my wife. Proverbs 18:22
c.By giving me 4 amazing kids and bringing my wife through a tough pregnancy to give us our latest joy (Abigail Joy). Psalm 127:3-5
3.Invited you in:
a.By giving us an opportunity to serve in our class He has given us opportunity to exhort our friends to give praise and thanks to God. It has also blessed us with opportunity to pray for those people. James 5:16
4.Been faithful to you this year:
a.He was faithful to bless us with another healthy child.
b.His given me a job I enjoy and have experienced success with.
c.He has not left me alone, but given me friends & family who care and pray for me.
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Psalm 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him
Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
Psalm 127:3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
LikeLike