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(Directions)

Don't You Want to Thank Someone?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thanksgiving can be wonderful and awkward all at the same time. How do we talk about giving thanks with our unbelieving family and friends? Doesn’t that automatically launch us into a conversation about God? Well, yes it does. And that’s quite alright! As believers, we know that the very nature of thanksgiving is rooted in believing that there is someone to whom thanks is owed. As humans, we feel the appropriateness of thanksgiving deep in our hearts. I appreciate the way that singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson brings this out in his song, “Don’t You Want to Thank Someone?” He writes,

Don't you ever wonder why
In spite of all that's wrong here
There's still so much that goes so right
And beauty abounds?

'Cause sometimes when you walk outside
The air is full of song here
The thunder rolls and the baby sighs
And the rain comes down

And when you see the spring has come
And it warms you like a mother's kiss
Don't you want to thank someone?
Don't you want to thank someone for this?

This thanksgiving, if you’re looking for a natural way to bridge into a conversation about giving thanks, then consider using one or two of Dr. Don Whitney’s “10 Questions to Ask at Your Thanksgiving Gathering.” You can find them in full over at the Crossway blog, but here are just a few that stand out to me:

  • What do you enjoy most about the Thanksgiving holiday?
  • Who is the most consistently grateful person you know?
  • What’s the one experience for which you are most thankful this year?
  • For what do you feel most grateful to God today?

Above all be sure to give thanks to God the Father for Christ, and give thanks to Christ for sending the Holy Spirit into your heart, and give thanks to the Holy Spirit for uniting you to Christ and thus reconciling you to God.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Warmly in Christ,

Mike