Thanksgiving is warfare.
Gratitude is a weapon. 
Wield it well. 

Give thanks for the preparation. The hustle and bustle, the messy kitchen, the endless cleaning, the extra chairs, and stained tablecloths sing the song of hospitality. God desires that we prepare a place for friends and strangers, feasting and laughing, leisure, and games because Christ is preparing a place for us. Could it be that your home is the place Christ is preparing? The acts of preparation and hospitality are potent antidotes, waging war against the demonic notion of meaninglessness.

Give thanks for the smells that come billowing forth from the kitchen, for they pull and stretch our yearnings forward in time to the imminent feast soon to be enjoyed. This eschatological longing wages war on the lust of the flesh, those immediate desires that so often possess our affections and strip us of the joyous hope of what God has in store. 

Give thanks for the rowdy fellowship around the table, the laughing, the stories, the mistimed jokes, and the unavoidable bodily functions that reverberate from the direction of the kids. Giving thanks for this is warfare against the disdainful and insufferable pride of life. 

Give thanks for football. God graciously gives us the gift of leisure and rest. If it were not for his sovereign hand over creation, the anxieties of life would choke any ability to play or delight in the games God has created us to enjoy. 

Give thanks for rest. As the tryptophan coursing through your veins takes hold and pulls you deeper and deeper into the embrace of the couch, give thanks. Give thanks for this slight taste of shalom. This rest mocks the dark powers of the world that seek to enslave you in a constant state of busyness and worry. 

Give thanks for the mess. The remnants and debris left in the wake of feasting and fellowship, the wine-stained tablecloths, the greasy fingerprints on the walls and fridge, and the remains of food stuck in the carpet all testify that a war was waged against loneliness and despair. 

Finally, my friends, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Happy Thanksgiving