Opinion
Thanking God for the harvest
We’re in the season when many churches will be hosting their Harvest Festivals, and Jane Walters urges us to give more thought to thanking God for His provision.
In an age of all-year-round strawberries and supermarket shelves being continually stocked with whatever we might fancy, it’s hard to remember the traditionally huge significance of this time of year. But I’m going to suggest that instead of going through the motions, or being quick to dismiss it as just another event on the calendar, we take the opportunity to pause, in deep gratitude for God’s provision for us in every area.
Many of the ‘self-help’ category of books and podcasts have identified that being grateful can have enormous mental health benefits. An ‘attitude of gratitude’ lifts our focus from what we lack, or find difficult, onto what we do have. It has connections with optimism and pessimism: is your cup half-full or half-empty; but it’s more than that. Gratitude isn’t about having a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, but cultivating a connection with the One we’re grateful to.
As a Christian, I simply can’t claim the credit for any of the good things in my life. If I have enough food to eat, then it’s because of God’s generosity to me and not just because I’ve earned the money to buy it. If I have satisfaction in my work, it’s because he’s gifted and equipped me. The list could run on and on. When we recognise that he is the sole source of all that’s good in our lives, it establishes a truer perspective. I don’t mean regarding how big God is compared to our inadequacy, although that is true; but how much God loves us and wants to lavish demonstrations of that love on us.
It leaves me wondering what the opposite of gratitude is. Perhaps it’s indifference, an easy-come-easy-go way of thinking that doesn’t pause to question the cost that someone else might have made on our behalf. Are we really so quick to dismiss the efforts made by our farmers, for example, in increasingly challenging times? Or perhaps it’s simply taking something for granted, as if it’s all ours by right? Entitlement never looks pretty, and its twin, pride, is just as ugly.
So, let’s not dismiss Harvest Celebrations as an anachronism that we should have moved beyond by now. Instead, let’s lift our hands, our hearts, our voices, in profound, wonder-filled thanks that Jehovah Jireh is still very much our provider.
The image above is courtesy of pixabay.com
Jane Walters is Chair of the Association of Christian Writers and loves to champion writers of all ages and stages. She leads Green Pastures Christian Writers (currently meeting on Zoom) and creative writing retreats at Quiet Waters. Find out more: www.janewyattwalters.com or @readywritersretreats on Instagram.
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