Thanksgiving Day is my favorite national holiday. I love Thanksgiving because its seems to me to be the only holiday that has not become over commercialized, nor has our society, for the most part, lost the meaning or the purpose of this day. Even the popularity of football during this season cannot compete with the power of people gathered together to give thanks to God for the abundance of the blessing He has bestowed upon us.
Recently, in social media, there has been a challenge that I have enjoyed watching develop. The challenge is to post your favorite Bible verse. For me this first challenge is quite difficult, because there are so many verses in the Bible that I love, and so to pick a favorite one is a difficult task. If, however, I may take the liberty to modify this challenge to my favorite Bible verse for the month of November, or to narrow the scope down even further, for the feast of Thanksgiving, the task becomes quite simple. My choice is Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
This verse is part of a greater passage read every year in the Orthodox Church on Palm Sunday (Philippians 4:4-9), and is one of my all-time favorite Bible passages: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
I have been making a conscious effort to make every morning a type of Thanksgiving Day. In my private prayers and meditations I speak to God and thank Him for the wonderful outpouring of grace that I have received from Him. I thank Him for the family and friends He has blessed be with. Finally, I thank Him for the challenges and difficulties that He has allowed me to experience in my life, for through every trial and tribulation, He has never left me nor forsaken me, and for this I am eternally grateful. May we give thanks to God every Thanksgiving Day, every month, every day, every minute, with every breath that we take!