Giving Thanks to God in All Circumstances
Pastor Tan Thai · Nov 1, 2021
This Sunday sermon from November 15, 2020 challenges the congregation to abandon a faulty gratitude formula and learn to give thanks to God even amid the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from the history of the Pilgrims, American Thanksgiving, and the Psalms of David, the pastor teaches that true gratitude does not depend on abundance but flows from recognizing God's grace in every circumstance.
The sermon opens by exposing a 'faulty formula for gratitude' that most people use: the level of thankfulness equals what one receives minus what one has lost. By this formula, in the context of the surging COVID-19 pandemic and New Mexico's shelter-in-place orders, there seems to be little reason to give thanks. The pastor poses the question: in the face of a coming 'dark winter,' where can believers find grounds for gratitude?
The second section presents the historical origins of American Thanksgiving through the story of the Pilgrims. In 1620, 102 people crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower, enduring great danger and death, seeking freedom to worship God. Half of them perished during the first winter in Plymouth. But by autumn 1621, with the help of a Native American named Squanto, the harvest was plentiful and they held a three-day feast of thanksgiving to God. The sermon also recounts how President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, in the midst of the bloody Civil War, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day, confessing that the nation had forgotten God and calling for fasting, prayer, and repentance.
The third section establishes the biblical foundation for giving thanks in all circumstances, citing 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that thankfulness in all situations is the will of God. The pastor draws on the prophet Jeremiah writing Lamentations amid the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem, yet still declaring, 'Because of the LORD's mercies we are not consumed' (Lamentations 3:22). Psalm 34, written by David while fleeing from Saul, opens with praise and exaltation of God's name despite the desperate circumstances.
The fourth section applies these truths through the image of 'two kinds of arithmetic.' The ungrateful person counts the faults of others, adds what they wish they had, subtracts what they already possess, and multiplies their losses. In contrast, the grateful person learns to count God's blessings, add to what they already have, subtract bitterness and resentment, multiply grace and forgiveness, and divide their blessings by sharing with others. The story of basketball player Scottie Pippen illustrates the danger of always comparing oneself to those wealthier.
The sermon closes with a call not to wait for perfect circumstances before giving thanks, because that day will never come. Psalm 103:1-4 summarizes God's blessings including forgiveness, healing, and redemption. The pastor reminds the congregation that God blesses not so that we may hoard His gifts but so that we may share them with those around us. The Washington Monument, inscribed at its peak with the words 'Laus Deo' (Praised be to God), serves as a closing symbol of a nation's gratitude. The sermon ends with the memorable line: 'Whoever forgets the language of gratitude can never speak the language of happiness.'