Pastor Tom Johnson, November 24, 2011
You’ve heard the story of the original Thanksgiving meal. The pilgrims suffered through famine, illness, and the loss of loved ones. But with the help of their Native American neighbors, God blessed their harvest. And so, they threw a feast in Thanksgiving I think it is fair to say that their Thanksgiving was deeper and more robust because of their previous hunger, suffering, and loss. Their frailty and vulnerability were acutely on their minds. The reality was clear: their needs were met by the mercy and grace of God.
It’s a similar story in our Scripture in Deuternomy. God fed his people in the wilderness with Manna—with miraculous bread of heaven. God kept them on the thin line between starvation and survival through the daily bread they gathered. And it is with this story in mind that our Old Testament Scripture tells them why they went through this hard times: “to humble and to test you, and in the end to do you good.” God used hunger for a greater good—to mold them into humble and faithful people.
Thanksgiving is one of the few national holidays when we Americans reflect on things as a nation and not just as individuals. Our nation, as a whole, has suffered the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Underemployment, joblessness, home foreclosures, trade deficits, national debt, politicians in gridlock, and the gap between rich and poor all have grown considerably. We seem powerless to do anything about it—certainly not quickly enough. It is nothing short of amazing that a new conversation has begun in the public forum: rather than asking why God has allowed this to happen, many are beginning to ask why we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. All over the world, economists, educators, politicians, students, and Occupy Wall Street are asking the question. They may differ in their answers. But we all want to know how so much wealth was lost. God wants a voice in this conversation. God reminds his people in our text not to say to yourself, “‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But [to] remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth." That is to say, it is God who has not only created the world in which we live but God who continues to provide for our daily needs. He is the God who teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He is the Bread of Heaven.
That is what we are here to do this morning—to answer God’s call to remember him—to remember the Lord God who provides for us body and soul. And he wants us to remember the good with humility. Humility acknowledges our weakness. Humility takes responsibility for our sin. Humility recognizes that we do not deserve and cannot earn God's blessing by our own strength. To be thankful is the inevitable outcome of a truly humble spirit. Humility enables us to see the world as it truly is: broken and unjust but still lavishly loved upon and blessed by our heavenly Father—especially through his Son, Jesus Christ. Thankfulness and humility are the fruit of true and abiding faith in the Gospel—that God so loved the world—poor, starving, and corrupt as it is—that he sent his Son to save us from ourselves, forgive us, and give us eternal life. We may never answer exactly how or why any of us go through times of want, hunger, and need. But our Scripture assures us of at least one reason: “to humble and to test you, and in the end to do you good.”
Few of you probably know that I cleaned windows professionally for more than six years. I did so while I was in seminary. Those were years that Johanna and I did not have a lot of money and resources. Cleaning windows was not glamorous work but God used it to provide for us. It was a blessing although there were times I was not always mindful of that fact. Now looking back, I see God’s hand of provision.
One paticular low point, however, was when I was cleaning windows inside a dentist’s office. A child was misbehaving. And in order to scold, the girl’s mother told her, “If you keep acting that way, you are going to grow up and become a window cleaner!”
God's will is always good and gracious even though at the time we may not see it. The humility and reliance upon God as our Provider is evidence of his miraculous work in our lives and hearts. Our thanksgiving is firmly directed to the Source of everything that is good and a blessing in this world.
For the Israelites, it was a barren wilderness and the Manna, the Bread of Heaven and finally the Promised Land. For our Pilgrim ancestors, it was a harsh winter of hunger, sickness, and loss of life followed by a bountiful harvest and multiethnic fellowship. Today, take a moment and tell your friends and family one story. Remember the Lord by sharing how God brought you through difficult times but, in the end, did you an enormous amount of good.
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