Thanksgiving Eve Devotion              November 27, 2024
Philippians 4:10-13                              Pastor Wolfe

Paul tells us the secret to a heart of thanksgiving

When you bow your head later in the service in silent prayer to give thanks to God, what will you be saying thanks for this year? I imagine if we asked everyone we’d get a lot of repeats. We’re thankful for family and friends. For jobs and financial security. Thankful for houses and heating and food. And, of course, there would be (I hope) plenty of thankfulness for faith and forgiveness and peace with God in Christ.

But how many of you are thankful for cancer? For covid? For homelessness or joblessness? Who of us is thankful that we aren’t as strong or healthy physically as we were last year? Or that our bank accounts are less full than they were a year ago? Anyone? No one? It’s easy to give thanks when we’re sitting in front of a full meal tomorrow or when we are surrounded by the blessings God gives. But among us, and around us, and to each of us, there are things we don’t have. And you know what? God calls us to be thankful for that too. Thankful even when we don’t have everything we want. Even when we aren’t surrounded by the people we love.

Finding that kind of thankfulness is a whole different level of thanksgiving than what most in our country will celebrate tomorrow. But Paul reminds us here that we can be thankful no matter what the circumstances. The secret to thankfulness that Paul learned as a missionary of God is to be content. To be okay with our lives and okay with ourselves no matter what we’re doing or how we’re feeling. No matter what’s going on all around us. Contentment is the secret to a deeper, more real thanksgiving.

Hear God’s Word from Philippians 4:10-13 “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Paul is writing to say thank you for the gifts and support the Philippians had sent him, on numerous occasions. It might be odd to read that Paul says “Thanks, but I didn’t really need it.” No, instead of a schmaltzy thank you card, Paul teaches the Philippians the heart of thanksgiving: contentment.

On some level we all know that we should be striving to be content. We all recognize the foolishness of making ourselves miserable by looking at what others have. We know the sinfulness of coveting those things that God has given to others and not us. We tell our kids to be happy with what they have. We tell ourselves the same thing. But that grass is still greener in the neighbor’s yard isn’t it? That little voice in us still says it would be nice to have the bigger house, the newer car, the better job. Satan, with the eager assistance of our selfish sinful natures, is pretty good at getting us to be discontent.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing sinful about having nice things. If you wake up tomorrow in your nice, heated home and turn on your huge TV to watch football while your giant turkey is baking don’t let me burden your conscience about that. Those are blessings from God. The danger is thinking that we need those things. That we deserve those things.

The stoic philosophers of ancient Greece praised the virtue of contentment. For them it was a kind of resignation that a person gets what they get in life and it’s better to just accept it. But that’s not the kind of contentment Paul was talking about. Christian contentment is rooted in knowing the goodness of God. True contentment comes from knowing that God has everything under control, so we don’t have to.

And there is the famous peace that transcends human understanding that Paul spoke of just two verses before this. It’s the peace of relying completely on God. Most people think they have to work hard to “get it done” at home and work, and even for heaven. It’s exhausting. It’s impossible. But in Scripture we see that God is the one who “got it done.” He did the work in Jesus that was needed to save us. He paid the price for heaven on the cross. And God still does the work in this world as he guides all things while we walk toward the home in heaven he already paid for. Now, that might not be a straight or easy road all the time. There are bumps along the way. The car might even break down. But God always has a plan in mind.

Verse 13 is the heart of the secret. Paul says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” I usually cringe when I hear people quote that verse these days – it’s become almost a boast of strength in the gym or on the field instead of the declaration of weakness Paul is actually making here. God didn’t give Paul the strength to achieve his goals – he gave him the strength to trust that whether he was winning or losing, he had everything in Jesus. “Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

And there, friends, is the heart of our Christian Thanksgiving. We all know that a Christian thanksgiving isn’t about turkey and football and family. But it’s also not entirely about thanking God for what we have. It’s also about thanking him when we don’t. For trusting that if our health isn’t perfect, God has a reason for letting us suffer. For believing that if I’m tired or alone, frustrated or broken, God is with me in my darkness and using it to turn my eyes to his light. Our Christian thanksgiving is about looking away from all this and looking to Christ our Savior.

So this Thanksgiving, I pray that you are content. Contentment that lives in knowing our Good Shepherd is watching and guiding and blessing – in ways that we see either as good or bad. Knowing that our gracious God is there behind it all. That’s a thanksgiving that we can celebrate every day. In any situation – whether well fed or hungry, whether in plenty or in want. Brothers and sisters, thank God for all he’s given, and trust him for all we need. Be content. And be thankful. Amen.