Adjust your thinking to view Thanksgiving as a monument established to remind you of the great things your God has done. You see this in the Old Testament over and over. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all built alters to represent moments when God intervened in their lives. The purpose of these structures was Worship of God and a reminder of what God had done.
Let’s take a look at one example:
Joshua 4:4 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” English Standard Version (ESV)
By placing the stones in the water, the people who crossed the river and their children would remember the miracle God preformed at that place and at that time.
Thanksgiving represents a monument to God because he deserves our worship, but also because it our recognition of what God has done. It serves as an on going reminder that God intervenes in our life for our good. When you give honest thanks you acknowledge His acts. Your mind isn’t racing to come up with a wild explanation as to how things occurred. The river didn’t just coincidently dry up just as the people of Israel decided to walk across. It is easy to forget what God has done in our pasts when times get hard. Thanksgiving, which focuses on thanking God for the great things he has done, reminds us that God acted in the past and will act in our current situation.
Exercise:
I would like to make a suggestion that as we go through this study on thanksgiving that you set out a bowl on your kitchen table or in another place where you frequently pass. Using rocks, marbles or some similar object drop one item into the bowl every time you think of something for which you are grateful to God. The bowl becomes your monument to the goodness of God.
If you look at several of the Psalms you will note David would speak with God concerning his need for God’s help, his need for God to intervene. David in the same psalm typically recites when God has in the past acted on David’s behalf. He builds his faith towards the future by reciting what God has done in the past.
This is the pattern for growing into faith and for growing into a person who is able to do those things, which God requires of them.
Altar of God 3:34 Josh Bates Album: Glory Revealed
Fourth Day Adventures 