Praise And Thanksgiving

In 1620 the Mayflower reached what would be the New England shore. It was already late fall and it was too late to plant food. They endured a harsh winter and food rations. They called this period “The Starvation Time.” In their first few months in the new world, half of them died. When spring came, they began to plant corn. The native Americans taught them how to fertilize the soil with fish. At one point that summer, drought was threatening their food supply. They called for fasting and prayer. The day after they prayed, it rained and their crops were saved. That next fall, they had a bumper crop. William Bradford and Edward Winslow recorded in their journals regarding the feast they shared with about 90 of the natives. They wrote that they, “Returned glory, honor and praise with all thankfulness to our good God who deals graciously with us.”

In Mark 6, Jesus had been preaching all day and ministering to people. It was getting late, so the disciples asked Him to send the people into the nearby villages to find food and rest. Jesus’ reply caught them off guard. He told them to feed the mass of people themselves. “With what?” they asked. Jesus asked them how much food they had. They found five loaves a bread and two fish to give the crowd. Verse 41 says, “Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all” (AMP). Did you catch that? Jesus said a blessing of praise and thanksgiving, then God multiplied what they had.

Zechariah 4:10 says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand” (NLT). Sometimes we miss out on the blessings of God because were upset about the little we have. Like the Pilgrims and Jesus, we should instead be giving praise and thanksgiving to God for what we do have because that is what He provided. What we often despise, God rejoices at. What we reject, God wants to multiply. Our attitude will dictate the outcome. As we enter this period of Thanksgiving and Christmas, don’t spend your time complaining about how little you have or how you wish you had more. Instead, praise God for what you do have and thank Him for it. When we do, He makes it more than enough.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash