Today is Thanksgiving Day.A special day for most of us with family and friends, enjoying food, fun, and being together. We usually give some thought to being thankful. And we can come up with a pretty long list. Yes, those things are good and they are a part of thanksgiving—BUT, they are not the heart of thanksgiving.As our American traditions this goes back to the early pilgrims. However, the idea of “thanksgiving” is more than our holiday. Thanksgiving is an attitude that God’s people have been celebrating for ever!But especially as Christians we understand God’s care and sustenance.We understand “thanksgiving” is not a one-day event—it is a daily characteristic of our lives. There are so many verses that teach us to be thankful. “Give thanks to the LORD , for he is good; his love endures forever. ...”(1 Chron. 16:34); “We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near” (Psalm 75:1).Yet there is a basic question that many ask: “Why should we give thanks to God?” Perhaps our answers will be found in David's song of praise found in Psalm 18. Now you may know that this Psalm, (repeated in 2 Sam. 22), recalls David’s years of hiding and fleeing from King Saul who wanted to kill David. David is thankful because God had delivered him and protected him. Our thankfulness can be understood from what we see in this Psalm.We should be thankful because we can have a personal relationship with God. David had this and we can too! Twelve times he uses “my” in reference to God. “I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps. 18:1-2).David relied and trusted in God—and that’s our call, to depend on Him. David said that God was his “rock” and God must be yours too. Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to have a deep relationship with the Father. God is not kept in the “holy of holies,” He is to be kept in our heart!Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father.” Two every important words about the nature of the relationship we are to have with God. It is not to be a formal, distant relationship. He also used the term “abba” (daddy) that also shows a close,
