Thanksgiving Changes Lives

Thanksgiving Changes Lives

The day before Thanksgiving, an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said, “I hate to ruin your holiday, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce. Forty-five years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and let her know.”

Frantic, the son called his sister who exploded on the phone. “Like heck they’re getting a divorce,” she shouted. “I’ll take care of this.” She called Phoenix immediately and said to her father, “You are not getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing. Do you hear me?” The man hung up the phone and turned to his wife and said, “Okay, honey. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their flights.”

In a couple of weeks, most will be gathering with family and friends and hopefully doing more than eating a meal and watching football. The Thanksgiving holiday gives us a good opportunity to transform our lives from griping and dissatisfaction to lives of joyful gratitude in spite of the fact that the official Christmas shopping season begins the next day.

What Thanksgiving does is helps us to turn the corner and become grateful people, which is what God desires.

“A thankful spirit is one of the key distinguishing marks of a Christian. It sets us apart from the world, it makes us different.” (Alan Perkins)

Psalm 118 starts out with these words. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1 NKJV)

The Benefits of a Grateful Spirit

Thinking about the question of why we need to be thankful, here are a couple of reasons that I see.

1. It Increases Personal Happiness

Most of us think happiness is determined by our circumstances. We’ve been taught that our happiness is somehow dependent on how well things are going. But our happiness is actually determined by our attitude. It’s about how we see things.

And the Apostle Paul wrote this from prison. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV)

Paul was happy and filled with joy despite being in prison, because he learned to thank God in everything.

A young woman wrote her mother from college. “Dear Mom. Sorry I haven’t written sooner. My arm got broken along with my left leg when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory when we had the fire. We were lucky because a young service station attendant saw the fire and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a couple of days. Paul, the service station attendant came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. I must admit, however, that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan on getting married just as soon as he can get a divorce. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine and will write more when I get the chance. Love, Susie.

P.S. “Mom, none of this is true. But I did get a ‘C’ in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its “proper perspective!”

Happiness is really determined by our perspective of life and not by our circumstances. If we learn to be grateful people despite circumstances, that is what will improve our happiness and joy.

2. It Improves Our Witness for Jesus

Having a spirit of thankfulness will make us better witnesses for Christ. What is sad is that Christians are some of the most negative people in the world. We act like we have been baptized in vinegar, not in the Holy Spirit. Is it any wonder people don’t want to have anything to do with church?

But when we are thankful, and filled with joy, we will attract the lost with this spirit of gratitude, because the world is depressingly dark and ungrateful. Yet, if we can learn to be thankful, we will attract them because we have something they desperately want and need.

The Apostle Peter said, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12 NLT)

Therefore, living a life of thankfulness will attract the lost.

3. It Enhances Our Relationships.

There is one thing I noticed about some married couples. After a while many of them become ungrateful and unappreciative of their spouses. And over time they take each other for granted.