Action Alert – 400 Years Ago They Were Truly Thankful

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

November 26, 2021

Issue

400 Years Ago They Were Truly Thankful

Details

Hopefully you were all able to sit down and enjoy family and friends yesterday.  It is much different in America now than it was when that first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621.  However, are we Americans as thankful as those who first celebrated Thanksgiving on these shores 400 years ago?

Having arrived in the New World in November 1620, about half the settlers died during that first harsh winter of 1620/1621. The remaining Pilgrims worked hard that summer and the Lord blessed their efforts with a bountiful harvest.  Most children in America’s public schools are taught the Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving because they were thankful for the help of the nearby Indians — totally ignoring the real reason they were thankful.

Edward Winslow reported after the First Thanksgiving:   “Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors….many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted….And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.” On October 3, 1789 President George Washington issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation.  This is the opening paragraph:  Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”   (Read the full text  here )

This is the opening paragraph of this year’s Presidential Proclamation:  “Thanksgiving provides us with a time to reflect on our many blessings — from God, this Nation, and each other.  We are grateful for these blessings, even — and especially — during times of challenge.”   (You can read the full text here  Note President Biden also says the Pilgrims gathered to express gratitude to the Indians for their help.)

I believe these two paragraphs give us a glimpse into what’s wrong in America today.  As a nation, we are no longer willing to acknowledge the blessings from God nor ask for his protection and favor.  As a nation, we now depend upon our own strength and ‘wisdom’ and leave God out of the picture. 

Action Steps

Let’s be more thankful to God for his blessings in the coming year.  May 2022 be a year of thanksgiving to God and a year when we all acknowledge our dependence upon Him.