Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right. Today is Thanksgiving–a day of giving thanks–so what does that have to do with trust? Well, I discovered that the answer is everything!

Yesterday, my staff and I read a devotion together about giving thanks. It seemed appropriate as it was our last day at work for the week before we all went home to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. I love Thanksgiving! It is one of my favorite holidays. I love the time of gathering for families and friends. I love preparing the big meal and enjoying it together with those we love. And I love that it is a time that our hearts are turned towards gratitude. There are so many things in this life and this world that demand our attention, destroy our peace, and distract us from seeing all the good God has given us. So I am grateful for this season of time and day to redirect our focus on all we have to be thankful for.

In our Thanksgiving devotion, the writer, Anne Peterson, shares the perspective that thankfulness is a way to exercise our faith. She refers to the prayer Jesus offers before he raises Lazarus from the dead. In it, Jesus thanks God for hearing Him before the miracle occurs. In other words, Jesus gives thanks before receiving the answer to His prayer. This is faith, and faith is exercising trust in God. Imagine if we prayed like that in all things. Imagine giving thanks to God for things we have not yet received. What if we made a habit of being thankful always–not just one day or week of the year? The Bible teaches us to live in this way. There is no shortage of scripture that instructs in thankfulness.

In Ephesians 5:20, we are instructed in “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:6 teaches us to, “ not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
In Colossians 2:6-7, we are guided in how we should walk as believers–“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Later in Colossians 3:15, we receive this instruction as well–“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
And Thessalonians 5:16-18 leaves no room for confusion in this short and direct word, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

This short list of scripture hardly begins to cover all that is in the Word about thankfulness. We didn’t even open the book of the Psalms! So there is no question that as Christians, we need to be thankful. But be sure to note in these scriptures above that the instruction for thankfulness does not follow receiving all that we want or ask for. As children, we are taught to say, “thank you,” when we are given something or someone does something for us. That still remains true and still needs to be taught to our children. However, when the Bible teaches us about giving thanks, we are taught to abound in thanksgiving, to give thanks always and in everything, and to be thankful in all circumstances. Clearly, our gratitude needs to go beyond–and before–the gift is received. Furthermore, we are to be thankful no matter what the situation brings–the good or bad, the great or awful–we can and should be thankful in all things. And that means demonstrating our faith through our gratitude.

Expressing our gratitude to God in everything we face communicates to Him that we trust Him. When we say, “Thank you, God” when we are still facing the trial, when we have not received the healing, and when the circumstances haven’t yet changed, we are telling Him that we believe His Word is true. We know that He will never leave us or forsake us. We trust that He is for us and not against us. And we believe that He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. Our thanksgiving to Him exercises our faith to place our trust in Who He is and what He has said.

THANKS = FAITH = TRUST

I pray that today you will have a Happy “Trustgiving”–that you will give thanks, and in that, you will give your trust to the Lord. I pray that no matter what your circumstances are, God will open your eyes and your hearts to see and know all that you have to be thankful for in Him. I pray that your day will be blessed and filled with His love, His joy and His peace.

Now I have to go and cook that turkey! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!