Thanksgiving Sermon: The Harvest Of A Grateful Heart

Good evening, fellowship. It is so good to see you all here on this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a time for family, for feasting, and for football for some of us! A time to look at the colours of the leaves and feel that crisp autumn air. Here in Canada, we have this wonderful tradition of setting aside a specific weekend to pause and give thanks for the harvest, for the blessings of the past year.

But I want to ask us a question this evening: What happens when the harvest doesn’t look like we expected? What happens when the year has been filled with more challenges than blessings? Is thanksgiving just for the good times? Is it a feeling we have when things go our way, or is it something more profound?

Today, I want to talk about how a lifestyle of praise and thanksgiving is not a response to our circumstances, but a powerful spiritual practice that can actually change our circumstances.

1. The Counter-Intuitive Strategy of Praise

In the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, we find the story of King Jehoshaphat. He was in an impossible situation. A vast, overwhelming army was marching against his kingdom. He was outnumbered and outmatched. Fear was rampant.

And what did he do? He prayed, and then God gave him one of the strangest battle plans in all of history. He told Jehoshaphat to put the choir,the singers, the musicians, at the front of the army. Can you imagine? Before the soldiers with their swords and shields, he sent out men and women armed only with a song.

The scripture says they went out ahead of the army, singing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” They weren't waiting to see the victory before they gave thanks. They were thanking God for the victory before it happened. And as they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies, and the vast army that had come against them was utterly defeated.

This teaches us a vital lesson: Praise is not a celebration after the fact; it is a weapon of faith in the midst of the battle. Thanksgiving precedes the miracle.

2. The Command to Be Grateful

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, gives three short, powerful instructions: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Notice he doesn’t say, “Give thanks for all circumstances.” We don't thank God for sickness, for loss, or for pain. But he says to give thanks in all circumstances. This means that no matter what we are facing, we can always find a reason to be grateful. We can thank God that He is with us, that He is faithful, that His promises are true, and that He is working all things for our good.

This isn't a suggestion; it's presented as the very will of God for us. Why? Because God knows the power it unlocks in our lives.

3. The Evidence in a Life of Faith

Look at the people of faith throughout scripture.

King David, a man after God’s own heart, wrote the Psalms. Many of them were written from caves while he was running for his life, or in deep anguish and repentance. Yet, they are filled with declarations of praise and thanksgiving. In Psalm 100, he writes, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” David’s life shows us that gratitude isn’t the absence of problems, but the presence of God in the midst of them.

Then there’s Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They were wrongly accused, severely flogged, and thrown into the deepest part of a Philippian jail, with their feet fastened in stocks. Their situation was bleak. Yet, at midnight, what were they doing? Complaining? Questioning God? No. They were “praying and singing hymns to God.” And what happened? An earthquake shook the prison, the doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Their praise didn't just bring their own freedom; it brought the salvation of the jailer and his entire household.

Praise in the dark doesn't just bring light; it brings breakthrough.

4. The Resultant Effects: The True Harvest

When we practice praise and thanksgiving as a daily discipline, it produces a harvest in our lives that is far more valuable than anything we can buy.

It Shifts Our Perspective: Thanksgiving takes our focus off the size of our problems and places it on the size of our God. It magnifies God and minimizes fear.

It Invites God’s Presence: Psalm 22:3 tells us that God “inhabits the praises of His people.” When we create an atmosphere of thanksgiving, we are creating a throne room for God to come and dwell with us in power.