In the fall of 1621, about fifty English Pilgrims and about ninety Wampanoag people set aside three days, marking their successful first corn harvest after a difficult first year in America. Nearly half of the original Pilgrims had died during the first winter, and some had died at sea before they ever even landed in Plymouth.
Since that time, U. S. Presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln proclaimed national days of Thanksgiving. President Lincoln’s Proclamation said, “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever- watchful providence of Almighty God.”
When we lose our ability to be thankful, we lose the ability to sense the workings of our loving Heavenly Father. When our hearts are filled with thanks, we are on the path of blessing. When we fail to be thankful, we have taken steps onto the path of destruction.
The Word of God is abundantly clear on this topic. The Apostle Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). And Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be ye thankful.” And we must remember the beautiful words of Psalm 136:1, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
As God’s people, we have never-ending reasons to be thankful for a merciful, powerful God Who watches over us, Who stands beside us, even when our hearts are breaking.
As citizens of the United States, we should be constantly thankful for the freedoms we have enjoyed, for our ability to worship God openly, and for the manifold blessings our nation enjoys. At the Christian Law Association, we are thankful for the way God has given us success in innumerable cases through the years, for the honorable, Bible- believing churches we have been privileged to defend, and for our unfailing supporters whose sacrificial gifts continue to make our work possible day by day.