Happy Thanksgiving from Greg Laurie!

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Friday, November 25, 2005

With all of the Christmas sales, Christmas shopping, and Christmas decorations in November, it's easy to see why we sometimes overlook Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving, however, is not a holiday any American should forget. It was originally established as a holiday by President Washington in 1789. It was a religious holiday, and more to the point, a Christian holiday. But the first Thanksgiving was a little bit different than ours today. They didn't eat all the same traditional foods that we do. They would feast on cod, eel, clams, and lobster. And for the main course, they would have wild turkey along with seal and swan. How times have changed.

But regardless of what we eat on Thanksgiving—whether it's turkey, ham, or even swan—everyone should have one Thanksgiving tradition in common, and that's to give thanks to God.

So to help us thank God this Thanksgiving, let me share three things every Christian should know about how to give thanks.

• To give thanks, we must recognize that God is in control of all the circumstances surrounding our lives. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

• To give thanks, we must realize that God loves us and is always looking out for our eternal benefit. 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 says, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

• To give thanks, we must realize that God is wiser than we are. Paul reminds us of this when he wrote, "The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25).

This Thanksgiving, take a moment with your family to thank God for all that He has done for you. As the psalmist sang, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 118:29).