Summary: Being thankful for something is different than being thankful in something

Thanksgiving 2019

11/20/19

Story of Thanksgiving

Pilgrims/Indians, Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole etc.

Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks, being thankful, and being thankful is about showing gratitude or being grateful.

Thanksgiving is more than a day with turkey and family, it’s a mindset, it’s a condition of the heart that causes us to glorify and praise God in everything.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

ME: It’s easy for me to be thankful for something

1: I think of all the good stuff

Good stuff is what I want

Good stuff is what I like

It’s easy to be grateful when I’m surrounded by things, people, and places that are good to me

Illustration: Trash Pile with 1 valuable objects inside (Wooden Cross)

Application: Thanksgiving goes beyond the things that are good

no one is thankful when a loved one dies,

nobody is thankful when their parents get divorced,

you’re not thankful when someone starts a rumor about you,

thankfulness is not what you feel in those moments.

When we allow ourselves to get lost in all the trash we see in our lives we get focused on all the stuff we have no control over

The middle of the mess seems like the most unlikely place to find something worth giving thanks for,

but if you look you can find HIM,

HE’S there in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the mess,

in all the trash you have HE’S still there.

You have to be willing to see it and trust it when you find it.

So What: When we give thanks in everything we choose to trust that with God every moment and situation can add value if we want it too...