A Satisfying Thanksgiving
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7
Your Thanksgiving dinner table probably looks different this year. The pandemic restrictions in many states prohibit families from gathering with friends and relatives. And COVID-19 may have taken one or more of your loved ones home to heaven. Instead of a meal for ten or twenty, you’re preparing a meal for two. Or one.
Grief, anger, bitterness, depression, fear—you may be battling all those emotions. I battle them too. So did the apostle Paul. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written this: “I have learned to be content” (Philippians 4:13). Contentment is learned—a skill acquired through practice.
How? By following Paul’s example—“with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” That’s a two-step prescription. First, we ask God to remind us of the reasons we should be thankful. Some of us may not feel thankful, but we can express our thanks to God anyway: “Thank you, Father, for your 24/7 presence. I feel your strong arms lifting me out of bed each morning and propelling me through the day. Thank you, Jesus, for paying the penalty for my sins and for giving me the promise of eternal life with you in heaven. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for being my confidant, my mentor, my guide.” Once we turn on our gratitude, the Holy Spirit will keep it flowing.
The second step is placing all our concerns in God’s hands, the big issues and the small ones. Give him the COVID-19 pandemic and your personal health issues. Give him national political unrest and your sleepless nights. Give him the global economic crisis and your dwindling savings account.
When we’ve emptied our hands, head, and heart, God can fill us with His peace, “which transcends all understanding.” Our mind will stop racing and our stomach will stop churning. We can count on that peace just as Paul relied on it in his prison cell. That’s how he learned contentment. That’s how we can learn it.
Whether your Thanksgiving dinner table is full or empty this year, invite God to join you. Start the conversation with gratitude, then listen to his words of love and peace. You’ll leave the table satisfied.
Dig Deeper
One way to cultivate peace and gratitude is to focus on the things listed in Philippians 4:8–9. What changes in your daily routine could help you focus more on these things?
Philippians 4:13 may be a familiar verse. List five things you don’t think you can do but know you should do. Then ask God to give you his strength to accomplish them.
Read Colossians 3:15–17. Even in the pandemic, how can you implement the counsel given in this passage?
Denise K. Loock
This devotion is part of our “Do Not Be Afraid” series.