Thanksgiving 2019: Psalm 100; Philippians 4: 4-9
Nothing steals my joy at the holidays like looking down at the table and seeing green bean casserole. I cannot stand the stuff. Now, I have no problem with green beans, nor with cream of mushroom soup, and I’m not fond of those little crispy onion things. They’re not a deal-breaker, though. But when you put it all together, it’s a great big nope from me. I’ve seen other folks who struggle at the holidays, from the ones who stare at a perfectly cooked turkey like it’s going to attack them, to the ones who joke about mashed potatoes being wall paper paste, to the folks who avoid pumpkin pie like it’s nuclear waste.
The holidays, and specifically Thanksgiving, are meant to be a time of gratefulness, of gratitude, of reflection, and kindness. But what is often missing from the mix is joyfulness or simply, joy. We are tired from travel, from cooking, from so much family and friends at one time. We may feel alone, sad, depressed and without the people we want most around us. Or we may look down at the table and realize we have to struggle through Auntie’s crazy casserole concoction for yet another year. We are given three ways to change and tune our hearts to praise for this holiday season.
First we must turn our words from complaint to joy. The Psalm tells us, “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Come before him singing with joy. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving […and praise].” I have always loved this psalm. It’s simple, easy to remember, and jam-packed with energy. It starts off with the words shout with joy. Just the sheer excitement in the words of the psalm should help to lift a grumbling soul. I have a friend who said that every time she is down and struggling she re-reads this Psalm to hear the reminders and to feel the excitement that comes from this Psalm of praise.
The Psalm also tells us the reasoning for all the excitement, joy, praises, and thanksgiving: “For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” Even in those times when we have lost our joy or we have stopped feeling any kind of happiness or praise in life, we must remember that we are still not alone. God’s unfailing love continues forever; even when we are grouchy, even when we complain, even when we feel forgotten and alone.
So let’s start out slowly. We need to think and catch ourselves every time a complaint comes out of us, every time a harsh word enters our thoughts, and every time we are tempted to let something well up from any bitterness that lives within us. Change first our words from negative to praise, to thanksgiving, to words of joy. It’s not some verbal hocus pocus, Changing our way of speaking forces us to change our way of thinking because hopefully we think before we speak. Even Philippians 4: 8 says, “Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Then we can begin to live as the hymn says, “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy praise.”
Second we must acknowledge and address our worries. Philippians 4 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for what he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace.” Many times complaints and worry go hand in hand. It’s hard to praise God, to be thankful, and to have joy when we are constantly worried about something. Worries can go from the very real and overwhelming such as “where will I live” or “where will my next meal come from” to worries that are only perceived. These make up the “what if” game.
Let’s focus more on the “what if” type of worries. Too many of us live with these on a daily basis, and I think that’s the kind of worry that is being targeted by the teaching, “Don’t worry bout anything; instead, pray about everything.” If we live our lives in the place of “what if this happens?” we will miss the “what does happen,” and the “what can happen,” in a positive sense. Jesus also famously teaches not to worry about tomorrow.
I remember a friend years ago was talking about faith and worry. He was facing some medical and family issues in his life, enough that the average person would likely be very worked up and concerned. He always had these great sayings, for instance, “Stop focusing on being the average person, and think instead as the extraordinary Christian.” But when he faced these life issues, he said something I’ll never forget: “There comes a time in life where you have to make a choice between your worry and your faith. I, my friend, choose to trust God, and that will be enough for me.” I know I use it a lot, but I can’t help going to back to the old Ralph Abernathy quote, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” Lay aside the worries and focus on trust in God.
Lastly we must fix our thoughts and actions on the joy God gives us. The scripture in Philippians wraps up with this: “Fix your thought on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received.” Psalm 121 adds, “I look to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth…The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”
When we are tempted to grumble and complain, we must remember the power and strength we find in our Savior. I heard a pastor once say that if we were to use our time fixing our thoughts on things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, we probably wouldn’t have much time to think about anything else. And then we put our thoughts into practice. We should live in ways that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, for we are an example of faith to others. That should be a very powerful thought weighing on our conscience. We are the example of Christ—and the joy found in Christ’s love and grace.
So remember in these holiday times that we should have joy in Christ. We should remember that our thoughts should be tuned to Christ’s praise and our words to speak our gratefulness instead of our complaints. We should cast aside unfounded worries—what if, what if? Do not fall into the “what if” trap. Christ has power and strength. And lastly we should fix our eyes on God and God’s holiness, laying aside the things on earth. The truth is I’m probably never going to like green bean casserole. But I can be grateful for the one who took the time to make it, to care, and to labor in love. May we all count our blessings this Thanksgiving and rejoice in God’s love and provision with gratefulness on our hearts and in our words.