THANKSGIVING PRESEASON: AN INVITATION -- Pastor David Tsai

“In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”       (Col. 1:3)

In a few days, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. Though it is good that our nation sets aside a day for giving thanks to God, it may actually be a difficult day to give thanks to God. It’s not that we’re not thankful, but it is because many of us are too darn busy on the actual holiday: cooking, watching football, traveling to grandma’s house, and hanging out with relatives and friends.
If you follow sports at all, you’re probably familiar with the notion of. Preseason is a time to get ready, get in shape, and prepare for the coming season. So, I’m suggesting that we establish a Thanksgiving Preseason, setting apart several days before Thanksgiving Day to get our gratitude in gear so that by the fourth Thursday in November we are overflowing with thanks to God. 
Why is gratitude so important? One, it is based on Scripture where we find gratitude displayed and commanded in so many books. In his letters to various churches, the Apostle Paul regularly expresses gratitude to God for those to whom he writes. A typical example: “In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Col. 1:3) By giving thanks, Paul highlights God’s sovereignty, love, and care. Thanking God frames all of human life in the context of God’s will and activity and it points to God’s grace and goodness. Giving thanks to God is foundational for the Christian life. It’s a practice that Paul models for all who would read his letters, including us. 
​Second reason is how gratitude benefits us personally. Recent psychological research underscores the value of gratitude. One of the world’s leading experts on gratitude is Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the U. C., Davis, who is also a Christian. Emmons has done extensive research on gratitude and its influence on our lives. He has written several books, and has dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles. In his fascinating article, “Why Gratitude is Good,” Emmons cites research that shows that people who practice gratitude experience benefits such as: stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, better sleep, more joy and pleasure, more compassion, and less loneliness. Harvard Health Publishing notes that people in one of Emmons’ studies who were asked to write down things for which they were grateful “were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.”
Of course, there are many more reasons to be grateful, whether to God or other people. I also believe that we sense intuitively that gratitude is a good thing. So, I’d like to invite you to join me in Thanksgiving Preseason. Starting today, let’s use the days before Thanksgiving Day to think about and practice gratitude. Let’s get our “thanks-giving” muscles in shape so that we might abound in gratitude, not just on one day, but regularly throughout the year.
Gracious God, we have so much to thank You. We thank You for the invitation to grow in our thankfulness each day. So, help me, I pray, to grow in gratitude. May I learn to say “Thanks” again and again. Amen.