Again this month we join our nation in a day of national thanksgiving as we praise God for the bountiful and rich blessings which He has showered upon our land.
The curious thing is that one must wonder how many in our nation even begin to comprehend who the true God is, or that it is God that we are to thank.
And as for cause for the giving of thanks, it is well and good for us to list the temporal blessings which abound in our homeland, and in our homes, but what of the underlying reason for their presence?
The world doesn’t even consider that it is only because of the Lord’s mercies that we find our daily needs fulfilled! The world doesn’t possess a clue regarding the extent of the Lord’s mercies for which we are giving Him heartfelt thanks and praise.
It is so easy, even for us believers, to take the blessings of food and shelter and family for granted. If WE take the abundant earthly blessings of our Lord too much for granted, how much more does the world? The seasons pass and the crops come in and we flourish, but the world does not even begin to comprehend that we are undeserving of all this favor from our God.
“He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:45).
The rich blessings of God descend upon us all, and the Spirit leads us to say: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Ps. 107:1).
How often we say those precious words. Yet we can only truly appreciate the richness of these words with the understanding of the salvation which we have in Christ.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
Christ died for the ungodly! That directs us to the real measure of the mercy of God! While WE were still sinners, Christ died for us!
When we by faith have comprehended this truth revealing the greatest treasure of the mercy of our God we begin to comprehend that the Lord is dealing with us only according to His mercy in each and every aspect of our lives each and every day.
Even when we are struggling in this life we can be confident of the fact that the Lord’s mercy endures forever.
His mercy endures for you! His love abides with us. We always have cause to give thanks unto God.
When we look upon the bounty that is traditionally spread before us on our Thanksgiving tables, representing the rich temporal blessings which the Lord has again poured out upon our land and upon us, let us remember that these are evidences of the mercies of God extended to an undeserving nation, extended to undeserving sinners like us.
In the cross we see the true measure of that mercy. In our temporal goods we see its extension to the remotest aspects of our life.
PRAISE THE LORD! GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD! FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!
–Pastor Theodore Barthels