Insensitivity and Thanksgiving: Sermon Response
By Sydney Gautier
When I think of Thanksgiving, I think about house-hopping from Joe’s family to mine. Two Thanksgiving meals in one day means way too much turkey and mashed potatoes—and probably too much pie (if that’s possible). However, in the midst of the house-hopping, food, and family chaos, the actual giving thanks part of Thanksgiving can get lost. It even happens in the regular busyness of everyday life, so just like Barry, I would say that I also struggle with thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is worship.
Thanksgiving is a day set aside to give thanks to God for all he has blessed us with. It serves as a reminder to believers that thanksgiving is to be a regular rhythm in our lives. In Psalm 95, we get a picture of someone who is truly celebrating what thanksgiving looks like, and they don’t need pie, turkey, or mashed potatoes. In Psalm 95:1-2 we see that thanksgiving is worship, “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” This is a person who is truly thankful, calling for us to worship God for all he has done.
Insensitivity hinders thanksgiving.
A grateful heart sounds great, but when everything seems to be going wrong, it can be difficult to be a thankful person. In the middle of what seems like a disaster, our natural reaction is not to give thanks and worship. It’s easier to feel hopeless, weak, and powerless. This can cause us to isolate ourselves. We can become callous and insensitive. The psalmist points to this reality with the Israelites in Psalm 95:6-8, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seem my work.” They had seen the creations of God and the miracles he had performed—and so have we, but with a hardened heart, we miss it all. I can think of many times during my life when everything seemed to be going wrong, and while I was busy feeling sorry for myself, I missed all the goodness of God that was right in front of me. Our hope here is that God is the softener of hearts!
We need to tear our hearts before Him.
Barry told us that God is the softener of our hearts, but the next question is how? In Joel 2:13 it says, “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” So how do we tear our hearts? We look to God and repent for the hardness and insensitivity of our hearts. We confess our sins to God and spill our hearts out to Him. We tear our hearts before Him and be honest with Him.
When we tear our hearts before God, we see healing begin. With a softened heart, it’s so much easier to give thanks and worship. Instead of immediately noticing all of the things that seem to be going wrong in our lives, we look to God and can be thankful knowing that He is faithful and good. We can be thankful because we know He is working, and He is making all things new. With a softened heart we see all of God’s handiwork, and we rejoice and give thanks for all that he has done for us.