I love the Christmas season and am always sorry to see it end. The beautiful lights and decorations are amazing; however, what I enjoy most is the spirit of goodwill and kindness that seems to permeate wherever we go. I love the fact that people say Merry Christmas in all kinds of situations. Whether we realize it or not, it is like we are telling Jesus “Happy Birthday” several times a day. Our Savior came to save us, yet Scripture states in John 10:10 that Jesus also came to give us an abundant life. Abundant life does not necessarily mean a life without struggles, but rather a life full of purpose and meaning.

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One of the wonderful things about the celebration of Thanksgiving is all the food! I am sure that at some point in your life, you gathered with family or friends and enjoyed a Holiday feast. Sherry is a great cook, and now the kids often bring their own dishes, so we have an authentic buffet. The food is always so great on Thanksgiving Day, but some of it seems to be even better after Thanksgiving! So, on Friday, we might have turkey sandwiches. I like turkey sandwiches on Friday. They are not bad on Saturday, but by Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, my taste for Thanksgiving leftovers begins to wear a bit thin. I am now craving a pizza. Enough with the leftovers! Sometimes that happens in the Christian life, also. I wonder if our Lord gets tired of thanksgiving leftovers?

Psalms 138:1 “(A Psalm of David.) I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.”

We could call this a heartfelt thanksgiving. This is more than one day a year. God calls His people to live lives of constant thankfulness. He doesn’t want our leftovers. He should not have to accept a mere acknowledgement that the season for Thanksgiving is upon us, and then we must quickly transition to Christmas! No, as important as the Christmas season is, we must never forsake the spirit of Thanksgiving. I know that commercially, Thanksgiving is just a small bump in the road between Halloween and Christmas, but it shouldn’t be that way for us.

We are called, as Christians, to be different. We are to be a people characterized by wholehearted thankfulness. All of our days should be days of Thanksgiving. As you take a look at Psalm 138, you will find that this Psalm breaks into three sections. Let’s look at what the Psalmist is saying. 

The Expression Wholehearted Thanksgiving.

“I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:1-3

What is thankfulness? True thankfulness is an expression of godliness. True thankfulness acknowledges that it is God, and not we ourselves, who are the source of our blessings. I submit to you that only a godly man or woman is truly thankful. Thankfulness is a spiritual virtue activated in us by God Himself. A man without Christ really does not know how to be grateful. Oh, he can be thankful for his family or for his health, like anyone else. But, since he doesn’t understand the source of it all, he falls short of real Thanksgiving.

For instance, in Psalm 97:12 we find this admonition: “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” So, who is truly qualified to give thanks? It is the righteous. As we recognize that it is only by God’s steadfast love and faithfulness that we have received our blessings, we begin to understand how bankrupt we are in ourselves. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, and a genuine, heartfelt thanksgiving readily acknowledges that.

The Psalmist here says that he acknowledges his thankfulness “before the gods.” What does that mean? In David’s time, the gods spoken of were the false idols of the pagan nations around Israel. These competed for the attention of Israel and the people of the true God. They promised various blessings through their teachings. But their promises were empty, as these were the false gods of those who did not follow our Lord.

These things were false in David’s day, and they are false in our day as well. You see, we have our own Baals and Molechs all about us that call for our attention. These false gods that would seek the affection of the Church also encompass us. We see all around us. They would divert us from the one true God. These are the pagan philosophies and teachings of our day that promise us rewards and blessings if we follow them. That brings us to our second point:

The Experience of Wholehearted Thankfulness.

“In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” Psalm 138:3-6

David says that he had called on the true God and was honored to sing praises to the Lord. Because of his knowledge of the Lord, David said he had observed four things. He had learned that God always meets our needs (Verse 3), communicates with His children (Verse 4), has great glory (Verse 5), and regards the lowly (Verse 6). And finally, we notice:

The Endurance of Wholehearted Thankfulness.

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalm 138:7-8

It’s one thing to speak of a heartfelt thanksgiving when we sense that our souls have been strengthened and things seem to be going well. However, David says here, “though I walk in the midst of trouble…” A heartfelt thankfulness endures in the bad times as well as the good. This is not some fair-weather friend. Even in the midst of trouble, true Thanksgiving endures. Why? Because our thankfulness is not based upon our outward circumstances!

I know that it is not always easy to be thankful on the bad days. You may get up late because the alarm doesn’t go off. You don’t have time to pray or eat breakfast. On the way out of the house, you trip over the dog and smack your toe on the door jam. You get to work late, argue with the boss, and come home at the end of the workday only to find you have forgotten it is your anniversary. Not a good day!

Now, David’s trouble was more severe than losing your car keys. David, the king of Israel, had been exiled from his throne, and people were trying to kill him! One of those people who was trying to kill him was his own son. Yet it is in the midst of this kind of trouble, David says, I give thanks with my whole heart! How could he do that? Because he knew that thankfulness to God does not depend on outward circumstances or success.

Conclusion: God calls on His children to have a deep, heartfelt spirit of Thanksgiving. We serve the same God as David. God calls us to be a people who rest in His steadfast love and don’t waver in times of difficulty. Sometimes we think it’s easy to be thankful when everything is “going right.” But when things don’t go the way we want them to, then being grateful becomes a little more difficult. But God’s love is steadfast for us as it was for David, and though we may walk in the midst of trouble, God’s abiding love and mighty hand are strong to deliver us. The Lord will fulfill His purposes for us, and He will not forsake us.

Thanksgiving is not just a date on the calendar; it is an expression of our hearts. Rather than giving God a few Thanksgiving leftovers, may we learn to thank God from our hearts for His many blessings upon our lives. May we all enjoy a heartfelt Thanksgiving this year.

Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry nearly fifty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries and Christian Bible College.

“What am I going to do? Why did the Lord tell me? Maybe Eli won’t ask me. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him all that God said.”  Can you imagine being Samuel and the Lord telling you the future of someone you loved very much, and it was awful? I Samuel 3:15 states, “And Samuel lay until the morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.”

The story of Samuel has always amazed me. His mother willingly gave him to God without promise of another child. God blessed her with more children, but not before she left Samuel in the temple with Eli. Scripture indicates that she only saw him once a year from the time he was 3 or 4 years old. I can only imagine how hard that was. She must have been familiar with the temple’s environment at that time. Hannah trusted God and left him with Eli. When chapter 2 of Samuel begins, Hannah is praising the Lord. Why? It does not show her crying as she leaves. It shows her rejoicing over her salvation.

Hannah was obedient to God, even when it hurt. I am sure it hurt her to leave her son with Eli, especially knowing that Eli’s sons were evil. It was well known in Israel. However, she honored God above herself, and she left him there. In I Samuel 2:29b, Eli is warned by a man of God of the consequences of honoring his sons above God.

As Samuel grew up in the temple, he served Eli faithfully. When the Lord called to him in the night, it was Samuel’s first encounter with the Lord (I Samuel 3:7). I cannot imagine being in his shoes. It is hard enough for me to tell someone something I know they don’t want to hear, and much less that their children were going to die and it was their fault.

I have read these verses over and over again, looking to see where God commanded Samuel to tell Eli the words of the Lord. God tells him that He is going to judge Eli’s family because Eli doesn’t restrain his children. Samuel has to tell Eli that he is a bad father, and it is too late now. 

I imagine Samuel contemplated what to do as he lay in the bed that night. When Eli called to him the next morning, he asked him what the Lord said and not to hide anything. He instructs Samuel to tell him the truth. Samuel had a choice. Oswald Chambers points out that God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli the vision. He left it up to him. Samuel had to choose to be obedient. He could not lie to Eli to spare his feelings.

Isn’t it tempting to try to shield others from hurt and suffering? Sometimes it is ourselves we are trying to protect. We really don’t want to discuss someone’s sin and how it is affecting others. We don’t want to tell a friend that the person she trusted has betrayed her.   There are numerous instances where we make soft decisions or soft pedal the truth to justify our actions.

Samuel made the right choice. He told Eli that God said, “…For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not…”

I Samuel 3:13

The following chapters and verses explain the fate of Eli, and Samuel becomes the leader of Israel. It is a sad story, but it should give us all a wake-up call. As Christians, we face numerous decisions, but only one is truly right. We must be obedient to God no matter what the consequences. We make choices as adults about who to marry, what job to have, how to raise our children, and most importantly, what ways God wants us to serve. We serve Him in every choice we make. There is no way to list them all.

We have many times in our lives when we have to make a choice. When we started Pathway Christian Academy, many people tried to talk us out of it. People we loved and cared about thought it was a wrong decision and a waste of resources. My husband and I had to choose between following what we felt God was leading us to do and listening to those who thought they were looking out for our best interests. Some got upset with us for our choices. We did not want to hurt them, but we had to be obedient.

How many times in your life have you been at a fork in the road? How many times have you had to decide what decision to make? Some decisions involve your children. We were always worried about being too strict. I regret many more of the yes’s than I did the no’s where my children were concerned. When we are asked to do something or go somewhere that we really know we shouldn’t, but we don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, it can be a catastrophe. That “yes” that should have been a “no” can change a person’s life. 

It takes courage and obedience to do God’s will, but it is the only way to please God. Just as it took courage for Samuel to speak to Eli, it will take courage for us to do the right thing. We will sometimes hurt others with the decisions we make. I am sure Mary was deeply hurt many times by yielding to God’s will. She watched her son be beaten and crucified. She had a choice. She could have told the angel she didn’t want to have God’s son. (Luke 1:38)

What choices are we making? Are we responding to God’s will, even though it may hurt ourselves or others? I can’t imagine David running from Saul all those years. He knew he was God’s anointed, but he had to run before he could reign. David could have said, “No, thank you,” but he didn’t. He accepted the call even though it was painful.

We must accept the call of God in our lives, just as others have done before us. We must choose obedience rather than comfort for ourselves or others. If we are to be in God’s will, we must do what God has called us to do. 

May we proclaim, “No matter what the consequences, Lord, I will be obedient and serve you!”

Dr. Worthington has five children and twelve grandchildren. She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro.

Most of us have special children in our lives, whether it is our personal family or a child in our church or neighborhood. Children have a way of making us smile as well as frown. We come across children everywhere we go. I have laughed at something a child in the grocery store has said. It was just too cute. I have also cringed because of words I heard a child say to an adult.

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