Doesn’t seem that it could be Thanksgiving so soon! The first of what I call “the feasts of Jehovah Jireh,” God, our provider.

Even though the cultural subtext of what we call “the holidays” is to buy and sell–and do you feel the desperation in the retail industry this year? Yikes!–our passion should be thanksgiving. The holidays give us the perfect pattern for expressing the giving of thanks. First, in late November we can celebrate God’s provision for our physical needs: our food, shelter, the clothes on our back and the thousands of benefits that we accept without much thought most of the time. We are wealthy and don’t know it!

The second celebration in late December is our chance to offer thanks for God’s provision for our spiritual life and our redemption when He gave His only begotten Son, our Lord. Celebrate God’s invitation to relationship with Him in Christ! (Incidentally, some fret over the fact that Christmas is set on an ancient pagan feast day to Saturn. I don’t worry about that at all. Why? Because it seems wildly appropriate that a day once devoted to a pagan god and redeem it, making it a day of rejoicing over the redemption of the human race by the only true God! Glory to Jesus, the author of life, and to God our provider!) On the twenty-fifth of December–I call it “Incarnation Day”–we can give thanks for the greatest truth of all: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…

Finally, there’s the holiday on January first. Why celebrate a day that for many is just a welcome time to recover from the revelry of the night before? Because God has been faithful in the past, and therefore we can depend on Him to be faithful in the coming year. The New Year is our celebration of trust and thanksgiving for God’s provision for the coming months.

Thanksgiving for God’s physical provision.

Thanksgiving for God’s spiritual provision.

Thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness in the

Celebrate the feasts of Jehovah Jireh, God our provider!