by Pastor Douglas Brauner
Thanksgiving Isn’t Over
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.
“In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.”
Psalm 44:8 English Standard Version
On this day after Thanksgiving the number one question is, “What are we going to do with all the leftovers?” I’m sorry for all of you Black Friday shoppers, but the number one question for me has nothing to do with mapping out a strategy for what stores to attack first and what body armor to put on so that I don’t get maimed.
Unless you had twenty teenage boys at your house for your Thanksgiving celebration, you probably have leftover ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, rolls, and maybe even tofu. For some of us, the best part of Thanksgiving is not the Thanksgiving Day meal, but the many meals fashioned from the leftovers that follow.
However, is there any leftover thanksgiving?
You might have spent time yesterday circling around your dining room table sharing things for which you were thankful. You might have each offered a prayer to the Almighty God for his provision and for his salvation in Jesus. That is what we do on Thanksgiving, but real life returns today.
The psalmist wrote the words above when the nation was defeated and not because they had rebelled against God. They had not forgotten him or his steadfast love, yet their world was falling apart.
The road forward for the psalmist was to give thanks to God even when he didn’t make sense. The path into the future for us, a future that can be dark and foreboding, is through thanksgiving. The mercy of our God and his steadfast love are with us when it feels the sky is falling and also when everything is well with our souls. Thanksgiving leads us into the future that God through Christ holds in his hands.
Though it is good to give thanks with family and friends once a year, may the rest of our time also be filled with thanks.
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
