How to Wake Up Happier Every DaySample

Thanksgiving in America is a unique holiday. It is a day for our nation to stop and thank the Lord. I was in a group of people, and the leader was talking about the health benefits of thankfulness. Science has shown that people who are thankful usually feel better and do better. But the leader of the group I was in never identified the one whom we should be thankful to. So, we need to identify that person. 

Why is it important that we say, “thank you?” It is a recognition of humility. Additionally, it is a recognition that we need help. Saying “thanks” is a way of saying, “Without you, I do not have the ability to be successful. I do not have the ability to continue my life. Thank you!” So, thanking other people is important, but ultimately, we need to thank the Lord. We must be thankful unto the Lord. We cannot be ambiguous with whom we thank. 

In America, we have a history of setting aside a time of thanksgiving, and that goes back to the first groups that came to the United States. Most of them came for religious freedom. Those who came to Jamestown declared in their charter that they needed to set aside time to thank God. 

They landed in America on November 11, 1620 – almost four hundred years to the day. They did not know anything about the prosperity that we would enjoy today. In the first winter, they dug seven times as many graves as they built houses. They lost half of their population in the first year. A ship came that was supposed to be bringing food, and instead of bringing food, it brought an additional thirty-five people that now needed to be fed. Still, they thanked God. 

I genuinely believe that is part of the reason why America is great. It was started with the foundation of recognizing the Lord all the time. Even when times were extremely tough, they thanked God, and they recognized His hand on their lives. 

How about you? The last couple of years have been hard on everyone. Can you still thank God, even in these hard times?