Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 107:1
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 tells us there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven, such as birth and death, planting and harvest, weeping and laughing, and mourning and dancing. In the same spirit, I’d like to suggest that there is also a time for giving thanks.
The actual holiday arrives late in November, at the close of the fall season. The autumn time of year follows an order much like a worship service does. The prayers and confessions, statements of faith and benedictions used in the worship service are called the liturgy. Funeral services have them. Christmas and Easter services have them, as do each weekly service throughout the year.
Liturgy is commonly referred to as a work of the people. We as worshippers engage in the songs, the prayers, and the statements of faith. We don’t sit back and watch worship being done for us. Instead, it is accessible to us and carried out by us as the gathered body of Christ.
Through our participating we proclaim the gospel as God comes to meet us and his presence stays with us. The liturgy puts words and meaning to it as well as giving a bit of structure so that the work is accomplished at the proper time. By the end of each worship service a cohesive round of story, of confession, of declaration, and of praise has happened. It flows in order and holds a place in our ongoing sanctification.
The autumn season holds many of the same elements for me as an ordered service. Many opportunities for worship crop up in the months of September through November. I’m not just talking about the weekly Sunday services, although there continues to be a number of those. What I mean are the activities that bring meaning to our lives and help us sense the presence of God, like being in nature or spending time with family.
The fall season has always begun with marching band. I marched in the band when I was in high school. So did both of my sons. Now that they are graduated and gone to college, I find that I still need to follow the bands, to watcher their progress, and to enjoy their programs.
September, the weeks of early fall, are the days of warm sunshine and low humidity. Geese start to migrate. The humming birds leave. Even the birds follow their own order in the work of migrating with the changing of the seasons. The sunflowers are still blooming, and so are the mums. If I’m lucky, one more batch of rose buds will bloom and last into October.
Then the harvest begins as soybeans are picked. Apples turn red and are gathered for sauce and pies. The hostas are transplanted. The corn dries down and is brought in from the field. Grapes, pumpkins, squash, potatoes, and the last of the tomatoes are preserved and stored in preparation for cooler months.
The leaves turn colors and fall to the ground. Rakes and winds work together to move them off the lawn and away from flower beds. In among this mix of fall activities my birthday arrives, along with the birthdays of nieces and nephews. Fathers, uncles, and brothers vacate the combine seat long enough to enjoy cake with a cup of coffee or a Sunday family gathering.
The weather turns cool and the days shorten, ushering us into the month of November. There is an order, a flow to our work, and a structure of the harvest season that lends itself to praise as we see what God does on our behalf. Bringing in a harvest is our statement of faith that the seeds planted earlier in the year would provide an abundance. Prayers and confessions arise from our hearts as we spend time with those we care about, spurring one another on to good works.
The time for giving thanks arrives as the benediction to it all. It’s the blessing we give to God out of the awareness of the blessing he gives to us. It’s important to take time to truly express our gratitude for God’s mercy and his abundant ways of taking care of us. We must be intentional about pausing to focus on God’s grace to us, even if for one day.
The verse I quoted from Psalm 107 was written to those who had been gathered from captivity. They were restored to their own land from every part of the world. the psalm uses the metaphors of travel in a wilderness, prison, sickness, and storms at sea to tell the story of everything these redeemed ones had been through.
The refrain, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love,” repeats throughout the first half of Psalm 107. Every time, it is followed by a situation too large for the people to escape by themselves. The first time, in verse 9, thirst and hunger are mentioned. God rescued them by filling them with many good things. He looked after both their physical condition and their spiritual one. While satisfying their appetites, he offers them mercy and grace, forgiveness and redemption.
In verse 16, the refrain to give thanks is followed by the statement, “He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.” God performed the impossible for the ones he redeemed. When they couldn’t break out of a prison of sin or destruction, God delivered. When they faced obstacles, God made a way.
In verse 22, the deepest most sincerest form of gratitude is called out of them. “Tell of his works with songs of joy.” God is our Heavenly Father full of love that never runs out and will never fail. He works wonderful deeds on behalf of those who trust in him.
This season of giving thanks invites us into the flow and the order of worship. The work we do becomes the service we offer to the Lord by our faith in him, our confession of his forgiveness, and the declaration of his truth. Our ordinary lives are turned into a liturgy of meaningful occupation and awareness of God’s presence. May we not only declare our thanks for God’s unfailing love, but also live it. Tell of his works with songs of joy. Follow his order. Flow in the grace of selfless worship. Share gratitude.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!