Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Psalm 145:1-2 I will exalt you, my God the King. Every day I will praise you.
THANKSGIVING DAY IS EVERY DAY
The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in September of 1621. The Pilgrims had sailed from England to America on the Mayflower in the fall of the previous year, a two-month long arduous voyage during which many of the 100 passengers and 50-man crew suffered from shortages of food. Some fell ill with scurvy and other diseases. After the Mayflower finally landed on the Massachusetts coast, the Pilgrims had to endure a harsh New England winter which only half of them survived.
It was the following Fall that about 50 Pilgrims and 100 Native Americans gathered for a grand feast, supplied by gifts of turkeys, ducks, geese, and deer they had received from the Wampanoag Indians. It was a three-day-long celebration in which the Pilgrims thanked God for His mercy in bringing them safely through the winter and blessing them with a successful harvest and ample amounts of food.
Still today we gather each year at Thanksgiving time to feast and thank the Lord for His gracious provision of physical health and bodily nourishment through the year. When the feasting stops and the holiday passes by on the calendar our gratitude doesn't end. Each day of the year continues to be a "Thanksgiving Day" when we recall God's goodness and praise Him for His love in giving rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, for providing plenty of food and filling our hearts with joy, so that we might be preserved and strengthened for a life of devoted service to Him in His kingdom.
