“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.” (Psalm 145:4–7 NLT)

It seems as though merchants today don’t really know what to do with this holiday called Thanksgiving. When it comes to other observances, such as the Fourth of July and Halloween, they make a lot of money from their marketing efforts. And, of course, Christmas is a financial windfall. But Thanksgiving? Aside from selling more turkeys and cranberry dressing than they normally do, there’s nothing that makes the holiday especially important from a retailer’s perspective.

Merchants have had more than 160 years to get it right. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated November 26 as a day of national Thanksgiving. Our nation celebrated it annually on that day until 1942, when President Franklin Roosevelt designated Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.

And that’s just the official government designation. The celebration of Thanksgiving on this continent stretches back at least another 250-plus years to 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. And just so we aren’t fuzzy about which God we should give thanks to, this is what the pilgrims wrote in the Mayflower Compact in 1620: “We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia. . . .”

They were not just coming to our fair shores to simply bring European civilization; they were coming to bring the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s very easy during our feasting to forget about the One whom we are celebrating. Yet His goodness is what makes it possible for us to celebrate.

The Bible writers celebrated God’s goodness. First Chronicles 16:34 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever” (NLT). And Psalm 145:4–7 says, “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness” (NLT).

The primary reason we are put on this earth is to glorify God and to give Him thanks. The Bible doesn’t say to give thanks to the Lord because we feel good. Rather, it says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT).

We give thanks to God because He is worthy of our praise. God makes it easy for us by giving us so much to be thankful for.

Reflection question: What will you praise God for on this Thanksgiving Day?

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“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT)

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Think of the time when a giant Philistine was taunting the armies of Israel. Everyone was paralyzed with fear. So, whom did God select? He chose a shepherd boy who had been sent by his father to take food to his brothers on the front lines. This young shepherd went out to face the heavily armored giant with a few stones and a sling—and more importantly, with faith in God. David was the person God used to turn the tide of battle and give Israel victory.

At another time in Israel’s history, when the people were immobilized by fear because of their enemies, God found a man threshing wheat. His name was Gideon, and he was convinced that God had called up the wrong guy. But God selected him because he didn’t trust in his own ability. Gideon had to trust in God. He, too, won an unlikely victory for his people.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, we read these words: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (NLT).

It’s a simple yet extremely effective strategy. If God were to choose the people we would expect—the strong, the powerful, the talented, the ones who look like they just walked out of central casting for a spiritual hero role—to accomplish His work, our focus would be on them. Instead, God favors the small, the humble, the unlikely, so that we can more clearly see His hand at work.

After God refused to remove a physical affliction from the apostle Paul, Paul wrote, “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10 NLT).

If you have faith in God, if you believe that He can use you, and if you’re willing to take a step of faith here and there, then God can do incredible things through you. He is not looking for ability but availability. He can give you ability in time. But God is looking for someone to say, “I would like to make a difference where I am. Lord, I am available.”

And in this season of thanksgiving, let’s praise God not only for using ordinary people like us to accomplish extraordinary things but also for making us aware of the potential we possess through Him.

Reflection question: What can God accomplish through you?

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.” (Romans 1:21 NLT)

A man was nailing down a loose shingle on his roof when he lost his footing and began to slip. Working three stories above ground, he was terrified at the thought of falling to his death. He shouted, “God, help me! I’m falling! Do something!” Just as he came to the edge of the roof, his belt loop caught on a nail and stopped him long enough for him to grab hold of the roof and pull himself to safety.

He shouted, “Never mind, God! The nail stopped my fall.”

How many times have we been guilty of the same kind of obliviousness in our own prayers? We cry out to God in a moment of distress. He answers our cry by working through the situation to relieve our distress. Then we say, “Never mind, God! Everything worked out by itself.”

A better solution is to examine our circumstances to see where God intervened so that we can give Him the praise and gratitude He deserves. The apostle Paul wrote, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). We can’t always see the work He does, but we can be certain that when things work together for the good, it’s because God orchestrated it. So, we need to put as much zeal into thanking God for what He’s done as we put into pleading with God when we’re in need.

I heard about a hospital chaplain who kept a record of some two thousand patients whom he had visited, all of whom were in grave condition and showed signs of repentance. Among those restored to health, he felt that only two showed a marked change in their spiritual lives after their recovery. In other words, when these people thought they were dying, they repented. But when they recovered, they forgot about God.

Paul warned what happens when people fall into this trap: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).

Is it possible to have a genuine relationship when one person constantly asks something of the other but never offers a word of thanks in return? The more thankful we are toward God, the deeper we can grow in our relationship with Him. So, in this holiday season, let’s cling to the words of Psalm 100:4–5: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation” (NLT).

Reflection question: How can you be proactive in giving thanks to God?

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.