Happy Thanksgiving!
“Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”
– George Washington
I heard this quote this morning, and what really stood out to me was the referring to God as “…the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” Just saying that God created the world is true enough, but it somehow hits home more to realize that we owe every single good thing to Him.
The beauty of snow falling in the moonlight, a random act of kindness from a stranger, that fictional universe you fell in love with, your very senses…every good thing is a gift from God. Even the bad things are gifts; at the end of time we will see that every trial, every moment of suffering in our lives, had a purpose for our and others’ good. Everything God gives us – both the things we like and the things we don’t – are essential threads in the tapestry of our lives, though they may not look like it when viewed in isolation. To quote from one of my most favorite of books, The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, “That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”
So let us give thanks to God for all good things this Thanksgiving.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God!
It is He that made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him, bless His Name!
For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures for ever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.”
– Psalm 100
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