Happy Thanksgiving!

. . . How can it be if it's not?  For thanksgiving only comes from being happy about something.  "But," you say, "thankfulness doesn't mean you have to be happy.  We're told to be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  How can you be happy about bad circumstances?"  Ah, but watch your prepositions -- it's in all circumstances, not about all circumstances.  Just two verses before, we are told to "rejoice always," and that includes bad times.  Now, joy is an emotion -- you can't work it up if you honestly don't believe you have anything to be joyful about.  Thankfulness is the same -- you must really have something to be thankful about.  You can't, and shouldn't, be happy about the hurts and problems of life.  They are the result of sin, and they don't make God happy either.  But even amidst trouble, we can still be thankful, that is, happy, about something, indeed, many things.  God loves us, and that in itself is enough to make us happy forever!

In the same way, lasting happiness only comes from thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is not a mere feeling, but an action born out of our recognition of good, and from that action comes the emotion of joy.  Even if life were perfect, without thanksgiving we would lose the enjoyment of it.  And since it's not, the only way we can be happy is to recognize our abundant blessings and give God the thanks for them that He deserves.  The natural and appropriate response to good things is thankfulness -- indeed, their purpose is to direct our attention to their Giver.  Failure to do so is disregarding His goodness.  Express it to Him -- a warm, fuzzy feeling of general gratitude is not enough.  What will you thank Him for today?