H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G ! ! !
Our treasured day to gather together and celebrate the abundant harvest is here! We may have actual harvests or metaphorical ones…or our abundance and good favor may remain a matter of waiting for now. Regardless, the LORD has worked wonders for us! The day has come to direct our dispositions away from the frets and frenzies accompanying those works towards resting and rejoicing gratefully together.
Americans are more likely to cook up cranberries, corn, and apples, whereas Israel’s promise of plenty was “grain” (mostly wheat), “new wine (grapes) and (olive) oil” (Joel 2:25). Either way, this Word captures the beauty and spirit of the day:
Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you…
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other
Joel 2:23-27 NIV
G O D B L E S S A M E R I C A ! ! !
For more devotions on Thanksgiving, see the Garden Tools section of God’s Word for Gardeners Bible, pages a-39 & a-40
Photo Credits:
©2016 Shelley S. Cramm
