A Day for Gratitude

One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is that it’s a day set aside for the specific purpose of giving thanks to God Almighty.

Don’t believe what the revisionists tell you. Many of America’s founding fathers were committed Christians—not all of them, but many of them. Even among those who weren’t strong in their faith in Christ believed the Bible was the Word of God. They had a respect for God and understood that God gave us this great nation. So they set apart specific days to give thanks to the Lord.

In 1777, the Continental Congress made its first National Proclamation of Thanksgiving, setting aside December 18 “for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise.” And in 1789, President George Washington created Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday.

Fast-forward to today. For many, Thanksgiving is something that takes place between two holidays we’ve managed to monetize: Halloween and Christmas. Americans spend $8.4 billion on Halloween, an average of $89 per person. And Christmas spending comes in at around $486 billion.

In fact, we see a lot more promotions for Black Friday than we do for Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally stores were closed on Thanksgiving, but now many of them are open. And some people won’t even call this holiday Thanksgiving. They call it Turkey Day instead.

Yet studies have found that people who give gratitude to God and give thanks for what they have will experience fewer heart issues, aches, and pains. An attitude of gratitude affects our health and our outlook on life.

The Bible tells us to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4 NKJV). This reminds us that for Christians, every day should be Thanksgiving Day, minus the turkey. We should give thanks to the Lord each day of the year.