Today America
celebrates Thanksgiving – one of the most powerful forces in the universe. When
we live with an attitude of gratitude we unleash hidden power to change and impact
everything and everyone around us.
Everyone knows the Pilgrims held the first
Thanksgiving feast in the newly discovered America. What many people don’t know
is just why they were so thankful. It’s because God brought them about so many
miracles to keep them alive. Today, we can all be thankful for the life God has
given us and learn from the Pilgrims that built America. Let’s discuss how the
Settlers can be relevant to our lives today.
The Pilgrims had a vision. The New World gave them a place to live out their faith
unfettered and free of persecution. They were dedicated to the belief that
every person could communicate one on one with God and that He would answer and
lead them. It took that leading and divine intervention over and over again for
them to survive their first, harsh winter of 1620 - 1921 in what would later
become Massachusetts. Today, it will serve us well to have a vision for our own
personal growth, family, community and country. Without a vision we perish.
Where there is a vision, there will be a provision.
The Pilgrims knew how to sacrifice. Nearly out of food, they were living on a ration of just
five kernels of corn a day. Of the eighteen married women, fourteen died that
first winter, sacrificing themselves for the next generation. Desperate Capt.
Jones said, “I’m going back to England. I
want you all back on my ship. I can’t leave you here.” Not one Pilgrim went
back. How easily we give up on ourselves, our marriages and our family today! Instead
of having an entitlement mentality, we should learn to make sacrifices like the
Pilgrims. Anything worth having will eventually require a fight. Don’t give up.
Don’t give in. What you sacrifice and fight for will eventually fall in the
hands of your decedents.
Squanto saved the Pilgrims. One of the natives named Squanto was captured and taken
to England. There he learned to read and write English. When Squanto returned
to America, he was immense help to the Pilgrims. He taught them how to grow the
native maize, or corn. He also taught them how to use the plentiful fish in the
river as fertilizer to make the corn grow well. Squanto was the providential
instrument used by God. Likewise, God has the right people, right connection
and the right doors ready to be opened for you and your destiny. If you put you
hope and trust in God, He will bring it all together. There’s a healing waiting
for you. There’s provision waiting for you. There’s companionship waiting for
you. Will you trust God for your Squanto?
Celebrate the goodness of God. The first Thanksgiving went on for three days as English
settlers and natives feasted and celebrated side by side. They brought much
bounty to the feast, like venison and wild turkey. In the Old Testament the
children of Israel built memorial by piling up rocks to remember the goodness
of God. Today, we will do good to roundup our family and take some time to
vocalize the goodness of God. Thanksgiving is not thanksgiving until we give
thanks audibly.
The secret of miracle is to give thanks. The size of our Thanksgiving will determine the size of
our miracle. Gov. Bradford put five kernels of corn on everybody’s plate and
asked everyone there to share five things they were thankful for that first
year. Gratefulness was deeply ingrained value of the Pilgrims. They believed
that God was the Provider of everything. We owe everything to our Creator and our
Redeemer Jesus Christ. The biggest miracle of Thanksgiving is to remember how a
small hardy band of Christians set the stage for what would become the freest,
most prosperous and only nation on earth founded on biblical principles. How we
live our life, our attitude and our faith in God will determine what world our
children and grandchildren will live in. Let us give thanks for this is the
will of God.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is
good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NIV).
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