If someone observes a day as holy, he observes it in honor of the Lord. If another eats a particular diet, he eats in honor of the Lord since he begins by giving thanks! If yet another abstains from that same food, he abstains out of respect for the Lord and begins his meal by thanking God too. Romans 14:6 The Voice
President George Washington may have offered the first Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3 1789. However our present day of observing a day of Thanksgiving began with two people who knew what it was to persevere, Sarah Joseph Hale and President Abraham Lincoln. Sarah Hale, spent over thirty years trying to get a sitting president to set aside a National Day of Thanksgiving. But it wasn’t until 1863 that then, President Lincoln agreed with her and proclaimed it to be the last Thursday in November. For seventy-five years every sitting president followed his precedent annually declaring a national day of Thanksgiving. Then in 1941 congress permanently established it to be observed on the fourth Thursday of November.
So what made the difference between Lincoln and every other president? According to Lincoln himself, it was a heart of gratitude towards God. Four short months after the brutal Battle of Gettysburg that amounted to the greatest loss of life during the entire Civil War; the President was called to speak and dedicate the National Cemetery there on November 19, 1863. It was there while walking through the rows of graves that Abraham Lincoln had a life changing experience. He once explained to a friend; “When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.” For it was there among the rows of graves where he was reminded of what sacrifice costs and pays for. He thought about Jesus’ sacrifice and his heart was filled with thanks.
Take time today to thank Jesus for sacrificing Himself so that all people can not only be saved but live a free life in Him.
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