With thanksgiving in their hearts, the early settlers gave praise and honor to the Lord for many things; most notable, a liberal harvest. William Bradford wrote:

“…And afterwards the Lord sent them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather as, through His blessing, caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving… By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine now God gave them plenty … for which they blessed God.” 

When we stop to think about all that we’ve been blessed with as believers, the list should begin and end with Christ. Having Jesus as our Lord and Savior is our fruitful bounty. Everything else is just gravy. For the Lord is our everything, and all that we have stems through his love and mercy—his grace to us.

With the Thanksgiving holiday soon here, we, as a nation, will celebrate all that is important to us. As we gather around the table with family and friends to feast on good food and fellowship, let’s take time to remember the ones who are suffering for their beliefs and pray that God would abundantly bless them with his power and that they would feel his presence in their midst.