GIVING THANKS ALONG THE WAY

 “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the LORD”  (Psalm 116:17).

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Here are the words to a much-loved chorus, Give Thanks, by Don Moen:

  “Give thanks with a grateful heart.
  “Give thanks to the Holy One.
  “Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
  “And now let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’
  “Let the poor say, ‘I am rich,’
  “Because of what the Lord has done for us.
  “Give thanks.”

“Being grateful” is defined as being “warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.”

The Rev. Dan Carr, a pastor I met while living 28 years in N.C., recently wrote about Jewish people traveling to the Temple in Jerusalem during Old Testament times. The following material is borrowed from the writings of Dan Carr:

“Families, especially the men, made the trip three times a year from all parts of the nation,” Carr says. “They prepared food for the trip and slept on the ground along the way. From the north, some traveled over 200 miles one-way, and many from all over traveled over 100 miles one-way.”

Some of the Psalms are called “ascension” Psalms because they were sung by pilgrims as they climbed upward on their way to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. 

“The giving of thanks to Jehovah was a vital part of their journeying worship as well as when they reached the Temple,” he says. “They brought offerings to the Temple and one of the offerings was ‘thanksgiving’ … The Psalms gave structure to their thanksgiving. Some of our hymns today do the same thing as the Jewish Psalms.”

Carr says the fall trip occurred around October and three feasts were observed: The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles. 

There were seven memorial days Jews practiced after settling in the Promised Land. The Feast of Passover began on the night they left Egypt. The Feast of Tabernacles reminded them of how their forefathers lived in tents and hovels made of branches.  

Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal, authors of The Feasts of the Lord, say, “The three fall feasts portray events to be associated with Christ’s second coming. The Feast of Trumpets depicts the Rapture of the Church. The Day of Atonement points to a great host of people, Jews and Gentiles, who will be saved when the Messiah Himself will tabernacle among men, wipe away every tear, and bring in the utopian age or ‘golden age’ of which men have dreamed since time immemorial.”

Carr says that when Jesus visited with the woman at the well, he told her that God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth and that God seeks such to worship Him. 

“Getting saved involves much more than eternity in Heaven,” Carr says. “It’s the entry gate into a continual fellowship or communion with God.  Thanksgiving is always a great part of communion with God because He is our creator, redeemer, and provider, and we acknowledge those things.”

The Bible is full of references to humble people giving thanks to God, Carr says. “Those who truly know God understand that in Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28) and have no trouble understanding the essential practice of thanksgiving and worship of the living God.

When we stray away from our daily fellowship with God, our hearts are cold and calloused, and we know it; no one has to tell us, Carr says, adding, “Praying comes hard. There’s nothing that will warm a cold heart like beginning to thank God for His blessings. Thank Him for everything you can think of because He made it all. After we remind ourselves of all the things He has already done for us, it’s not so hard to pray for other things we may need.”