Thanksgiving and More Thanksgiving

In 1st Chronicles chapter 16, we see the words of David as he expressed his thankfulness to God as the Ark of the Covenant had been brought into the tabernacle, resulting in multiple praises to the Lord:

8Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!9Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!10Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!11Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
David was certainly excited about what God had done in the midst of His people, and he couldn't keep it to Himself.  And, it has occurred to me that as we give God the praise for what He has done in our lives, and we do that verbally and even publicly, then others will see the work of God, and perhaps they, too will be drawn in to give God the praise for who He is and what He's done. 

I would also dare say that one way we can demonstrate thanksgiving is to testify to God's greatness by allowing Him to minister to someone else through us.  In our desire to see God glorified, He will use us to demonstrate His presence.  Our acts of thanksgiving will yield more thanksgiving and praise to Him.
+++++

In the 4th chapter of the book of 2nd Corinthians, Paul addresses the topic of thanksgiving, spreading as the result of God's work in our lives:
15For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.16Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

It's not the type of ad you would commonly see on a Facebook page, and if you begin to read it, it doesn't turn out the way you might think.  It was posted on the page of a television station in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.  It begins like this:  "Wanted," then, "A family to share thanksgiving with."

It then reads:

Large 54 y.o. Christian, homeless male is looking for a person, family, or couple to share Thanksgiving day with.  

In the course of the ad, he says, "I am very grateful to God for everything he has blessed me with.  I love to sing praises to God.  I was very alone last Thanksgiving and really would not like to go through that this Thanksgiving..."

TV station Fox43 and its apparent sister station, NewsChannel 3, have been monitoring this story. A Fox 43 reporter visited with the man, Neal Shytles, at the Union Rescue Mission in Norfolk.  The article states:

What he lacks in possessions, Neal makes up for with heart.

“You know I’m grateful for even being here,” he says.

It’s a heart that is hurting. He’s surrounded by hundreds of people every day, but still Neal feels alone.

“I am lonely like 365 days a year but Christmas and Thanksgiving are two of the worst days, and I really miss having some kind of family atmosphere around me,” Neal says.

Neal used to be a taxi driver.  But after 15 years, he lost his job and the bills piled up.

He said, “Everything that I’d saved up I started dishing out to people that were taking me in and everything was gone...When I was dropped off at the front door here, I was one of these people that never thought I would be here.”

Well, as you might expect, the calls and e-mails came in from across the country.

Fox43 reports that a military couple in Newport News reached out to Neal first, through the rescue mission. They plan to drive down to Norfolk Thanksgiving morning, pick Neal up and take him back to their home.

Neal says, “They want to feed me lunch and Thanksgiving dinner so I’m getting a double blessing I guess you should say.” The lady says that, “Because we`ve been military and I identify with having to be away from your family and not having family around for the holidays so it kind of struck a chord with me.”


Linda Jones, a spokesperson for the shelter, said, “This is helping people across the country to open up their hearts to help those in need,” adding, “I think Neal has put a real face on who the homeless are...It`s not what a lot of people think. They are human beings just like you and I.”

This is a great story for the day before Thanksgiving, and it is a reminder to us that one of the ways that we can show thanks to all God has done for us is to reach out to people in need.  And, you know, you really don't have to look that far.   We can trust the Holy Spirit to give us opportunity and sensitivity to find ways to minister to people.

And, I think while many of us are enjoying time with family and experiencing the celebration of this season, we can also be mindful that there are others that experience sadness at Thanksgiving and Christmas.   As Neal Shytles said, those two days are "the worst."  Christmas can be a sad time for many, especially if you've experienced loss during the previous year.  So, if we have been blessed, we can be challenged to find ways to bless others, especially those who are hurting this time of year.

Finally, if you're among the hurting this time of year, I would encourage you to seek the Lord and allow Him to restore hope and minister healing in your heart.  Even though it may seem that He is far away or you've become despondent, He is near to you - He loves you very, very much and I believe that as you look to Him, as you.seek His face, He will make Himself known to you.  He is full of love toward you, a love that will never let you down, that will bear you up even in the most desperate of situations.  Call on Jesus and begin to thank Him for what He has done for you.