The holiday of Thanksgiving would probably not exist today if not for the work of Sarah Joseph Hale. She began to advocate for Thanksgiving in the early 1800’s. She saw it as a way to advance a sense of national pride. She wanted to make Thanksgiving an American custom, an institution, and a holiday.
But it wasn’t until 1863 that President Lincoln finally declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. Seeing that the President did this in throws of the Civil War, Thanksgiving is considered by some to simply be an attempt by the President to bring some peace back to the country.
We must not forget real reasons behind the desire of Sarah Joseph Hale and President Lincoln for a day of Thanksgiving. They wanted to take time to thank God for the wonders of His work and of His great love towards us.
Ms. Hale wanted us to remember we had God to thank for our sense of nationalism. We are one people under one God, and we should express that openly.
President Lincoln wanted to take time to thank God for preserving the country as one nation of many people of different types. He wanted us to know that God is the only One Who can take things that are different and unite them together with something that is the same to all.
So, as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day this year, let’s not forget the real reason for our joy. We are a people chosen by God Himself to be His very own. We may be different in many ways, but we are made the same by the same sacrifice of His Son Jesus Who died so that we could live as one people under one great and mighty God.
Psalm 100 is a short Psalm of five verses. It says this:
Verse 1: Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! (Don’t let the next 364 days go by without daily expressing your joy at being a child of God).
Verse 2: Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. (Live out the year gladly serving Him as He is our provider of all things).
Verse 3: Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Remember that we are not our own, and we are not to live on our own. Instead, we are His, and knowing this will enable us to live like we are His in the favor of His presence daily).
Verse 4: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. (We all ask the Lord to come into our hearts to live. But today let’s commit to move our lives into His heart. Let’s then remember as we enter the gates of His heart, to do that giving thanks that He made room for us. And as we enter the courts of His presence, we do that with praise because we are amazed at the wonders of His goodness).
Verse 5: For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Let’s remember all things good come from Him because He is good. His mercy is good for us. His Truth good for us, just as it was at the start of man, just as it was at the fall of man, just as it was at the saving of man, and just as it is today. He is always Good for us).
So, as we celebrate Thanksgiving 2022, let’s do that with the mind that we can celebrate this day because He made it possible for us come live in His heart. There, we have all that we could ever want and all that we can ever be.
Live a Delivered Life. Love you.
Live Delivered 