A Season for Thankfulness

I enjoy this time of year. Yes, the temperatures drop, and I find myself liking the cold and snow less with each passing year—but there’s something about this season that still draws me in. November, with its often-overlooked holiday, gives us a unique opportunity to slow down and focus on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. Don’t get me wrong—I love Christmas and Easter, with all their rich beauty and deep spiritual meaning. But Thanksgiving has a special simplicity to it. For our family, it’s a time when family, friends, and sometimes even strangers gather around a table filled with beauty and good food. We take turns naming our blessings, and we leave the table with full stomachs and even fuller hearts. That gratitude has a way of overflowing for days afterward.

Then comes Black Friday. It’s as if the world can’t wait to move us from gratitude to greed, from contentment to craving more. And maybe that’s no accident. The world, the flesh, and the devil all share one goal: to keep us from being thankful and to make us doubt the goodness of God. It’s been their tactic from the beginning—and it still works. When our eyes drift from Jesus, even for a moment, self-focus creeps in. We begin to chase what seems right in our own eyes instead of what’s right before God.

That’s why Scripture is filled with calls to gratitude. Here are just a few reminders:

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18
“Be thankful… sing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” — Colossians 3:15–17
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Ephesians 5:19–20
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” — Psalm 100:4–5
“Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” — Psalm 95:1–3
“By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” — Philippians 4:6

Here’s my challenge to you this month: Be thankful—intentionally.
Share your favorite verse about gratitude with someone. Go out of your way to express thankfulness to and for someone. Gather a group simply to share what you’re thankful for. At your Thanksgiving celebration, take time to speak words of thanks aloud.

Thankfulness is a powerful thing. Don’t let it be overshadowed by all the noise and distractions the world, the flesh, and the devil throw at us. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus—and be thankful.

With gratitude,
Pastor Andrew