“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.”

This began Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation declaring Thanksgiving Day a national holiday on October 3, 1863. Despite leading a nation beset by civil war that threatened to permanently divide the United States, he acknowledged the following:

“To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God…”

He further added, “They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

It was in this context of war and God “dealing with” sin that he invited his “fellow citizens….to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Thanksgiving today is synonymous with turkey and football. Yet Lincoln’s stated purpose was to help Americans remember the source of their blessings. Even amid civil war, he called on the nation to acknowledge God’s generosity and mercy.

How much of today’s celebration is actually devoted to thanking Him?

Yet even if Thanksgiving were kept as Lincoln intended, it could not overcome the pandemic of ingratitude plaguing the Western world.

Modern society has never had so much—mansion-like homes compared to what humans have lived in for 6,000 years, with every amenity, easily accessible food and clean water, breathtaking technological and medical advances that prolong and increase quality of life, and on and on…

Remember the Source

Moses counseled ancient Israel with words that are just as applicable today as they were 3,500 years ago. As the people prepared to enter the Promised Land, he said: “The Lord your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass” (Deut. 8:7-9).

Israel was to enjoy unparalleled prosperity—comparable to the abundance enjoyed today. Yes, economic trouble grips the world, but never in history has the standard of living been so high in the affluent nations of the West.

Millennia before Lincoln, Moses explained Israel was to recognize the source of those blessings, and be thankful for them: “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you” (vs. 10).

God instructs us to receive food with thanksgiving and prayer (I Tim. 4:4-5). Yet the book of Deuteronomy reveals that this gratitude is to go far beyond the dinner table. Thanksgiving—actively recognizing God as the source of prosperity—is to be a way of life.

How often do people speak of God as the source of their wealth, happiness or security? The answer is not enough. Rather than acknowledging, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jms. 1:17), it can be too easy to think that prosperity is the result of our own actions. Yes, personal effort is necessary and carries reward, but the overall source of our ability and source of life can never be far from mind.

Moses warned that forgetting this is tied to something else: “Beware that you forget not the Lord your God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command you this day” (Deut. 8:11).

Remembering God as the source of blessings simultaneously forces the mind to focus on God’s expectations for mankind. Jesus Christ 1,500 years later explained, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Christ was quoting the same chapter in Deuteronomy (8:3).

Let Gratitude Shape Your Life

Moses’ caution becomes particularly applicable to the modern generation in Deuteronomy 8:12-14: “Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God.”

Verse 17 identifies a danger that can accompany prosperity: “And you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.”

Self-reliance is the surest path to an unthankful attitude toward God. Remembering God is the only path toward true thanksgiving: “But you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is He that gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto your fathers, as it is this day” (vs. 18).

King David understood the importance of remembering God’s blessings. He wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psa. 103:1-2).

Notice that instruction: Forget not. How easy it can be to dwell on life’s problems while overlooking what God provides every day! Food, clothing and shelter become so familiar that we scarcely notice them. As Lincoln observed, we are “prone to forget” their source.

David’s list extended beyond material possessions. He spoke of God’s lovingkindness and tender mercies, and His desire to forgive us (vs. 3-4). These, too, should come to mind when we consider how much we have received from Him.

The apostle Paul instructed, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thes. 5:18). Giving thanks is something we should do in every circumstance—in both good times and bad. Actively consider what you have to be thankful for and tell God in prayer what you appreciate.

Do this, and thanksgiving will start to become far more than one Thursday in November. It will become a way of life!

To get the most from this holiday, read Should You Celebrate Thanksgiving Day? And to learn how to approach God effectively in prayer, read The Keys to Dynamic Prayer.