Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Nov. 23, 2011

I am going to depart from the "norm" this morning with the Daily Jewel and instead of a message from Proverbs I would like to enter this Thanksgiving Season with a message from a Mentor/Teacher/Friend, Dr. Tom Barnard. I have used his words before because he is both eloquent and wise. To everyone on this list and beyond I would like to wish a very happy thanksgiving...and a safe black Friday!! (That is if you plan to venture out!)

Thankful in Everything
Tom Barnard

The national thanksgiving holiday is upon us. A time to indulge and a day to “overdo.” And it does not end there. In fact, even before the last piece of pumpkin pie and ice cream is consumed on Thanksgiving Day, folks will be setting their alarms to awaken early for the sales that start before dawn the next day…a day we now refer to as “Black Friday.” What began in 1621 as a decision to offer thanks to God by the Pilgrims—then made a national day of thanksgiving in 1863 under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln is now the eve of the busiest shopping day of the year in America.
The psalmist said, “At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You” (Psalm 119:62). While few do that in these busy times, perhaps we should re-visit the concept as directed by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:18): “…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
There are many other passages of Scripture that call us to be thankful. Here are a few more:
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalm 107:8, 9)

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30)
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)

In my quest for some appropriate words to share with you today on the theme of thankfulness, I came across a short paragraph on the subject—the author of which was listed as “unknown.” In an attempt to describe the meaning of thankfulness, the author told a story about a discussion between two men. One man gave the other man a dish of sand and tried to convince him that there were small pieces of iron in it. He invited the man to run his fingers through the sand in search of iron particles. No iron was found. Then he gave the man a magnet and invited him to run the magnet through the sand. To the second man’s surprise, tiny particles of iron stuck to the magnet. Invisible to the eye a moment before, now dozens of fragments of iron were visible, firmly attached to the magnet.
The lesson was clear. The unthankful heart, like fingers in the sand, discovers no mercies in life. But let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and—just as the magnet finds iron in the sand—so a thankful person finds blessings in every moment of the day.
Priscilla Maurice (1805-54) grew up in an English home where parents (and siblings) often debated religious beliefs and disagreed often. Eventually she developed a philosophy of life that embraced the discipline of being thankful. Here are some of her words:
“To ‘give thanks to Him for all things,’ is indeed a very difficult duty. It includes giving thanks for trials of all kinds…Yet they who have learned submission will not find it a hard duty. They will so entirely love all that God wills and appoints, that they will see it is the very best thing for them. Hereafter they will see all the links of the chain, and how wonderfully those are fitted, which at the time seemed to have no adaptation or agreement. This belief enables them to praise Him and give thanks now for each thing, assured that as it has been, so it will be—that the God of love will do all things well.”

Advent is a perfect time to be thankful. It offers us the opportunity to extend the theme of thankfulness up to and beyond Christmas. As you go about your busy schedule this week, take time to be thankful. And you don’t need to set your alarm clock to arise early in the morning to do so. Any time of the day will do.