Thanksgiving - God's Providence

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Thanksgiving, the special day: There are decorated harvest wagons, harvest columns, harvest wreaths, decorated altars in churches with the fruits of the field.

1. A promise renews itself every year

 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22 (ESV)

2. The goodness of God, He blesses the earth in all seasons

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 33:4-5 (ESV)

You, Lord, care for the whole land, making it rich and fertile. God moves across the earth like a gardener through his garden. He waters every plant with fresh water.

3. The richness of His goodness

All the money in the world does not make humanity as rich as the rain from the clouds, which soaks the earth and brings forth the abundance of the soil. David writes: You fill the streams and rivers with water. God's fountain is inexhaustible. You moisten the land and soak it with pouring rain. You soften the parched earth and let all plants flourish.

"You make the grain grow well." Grain in its various forms is the staple food of humanity. The soft soil allows the plants to sprout. The seed germinates, the shoots emerge, and the stalk grows. The scent of fresh life rests over the land. The Lord has blessed. The rain refreshes, the air is purified.

4. The richness of his blessing

The meadows of the steppe begin to bloom. The animals are also blessed by God. They drink at the oases and find water in the streams, which are replenished anew from the sky.

The pastures are full of sheep. The meadows are thick with grain. Grazing herds and waving fields are gifts from our God, who wonderfully sustains and nourishes us. God's abundance makes the earth resound.

The bleating of the herds and the rustling of the ears of grain are praise to God. The roaring of the water and the rushing of the wind are hymns to the Lord. All of creation sings a song of praise to the eternal God.

Let us join in praising nature with gratitude and give glory to God.

5. The constancy of his blessings

You crown the year with your goodness, and your tracks drip with blessings. The harvest is the clear proof of God's goodness. The harvest is the crowning of the year. His love encompasses all seasons, just as the crown encompasses the head.

The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! Psalm 67:7-8 (ESV)

Thanks also to all farmers and farm women who, with their vitality, take responsibility for feeding people.

6. Words of a song by Paul Gerhardt

I sing to you with heart and mouth,  

Lord of my heart's delight.  

I sing and make known on Earth  

what I am aware of from you.  

You nourish us from year to year,  

always remaining devout and faithful.

According to Psalm 65:10-14 and excerpts from 'David's Treasury' by Ch. Spurgeon

Author: Edith Waechter
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