There’s a wonderful old gospel song that says:

Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Count your blessings, see what God has done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
And, it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

That’s what we do at this Thanksgiving Season — we count our blessings! And they are many!

The early Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on Sept. 6, 1620, bound for the New World. With winter approaching, it was probably not the best time to set sail. For the next two months, the 102 passengers fought the stormy winds and high seas of the Atlantic Ocean until the cry of “Land!” was heard.

They arrived in what we now know as Massachusetts and before disembarking signed the Mayflower Compact on Dec. 11 — America’s first document of civil government and self-government.

The Pilgrims hastily built shelters, but were unprepared for the harsh winter. Nearly half of them died of disease and starvation before spring. One year after arriving, on Dec. 13, 1621, the remaining grateful Pilgrims declared a three-day feast to thank God and celebrate with their newfound Native American friends. This celebration followed their first harvest in the New Land.

Over a century and a half later, our first president, George Washington, issued a proclamation in 1789 calling for America to celebrate its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under the new constitution. For the next 74 years, Thanksgiving celebrations were set by state governments.

Thanksgiving became a national holiday in the midst of the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg took place in July 1863, resulting in the death of 60,000 American lives. Four months later, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that established a National Thanksgiving Day.

In the ensuing years, in good times and in bad, Americans have celebrated our unique holiday — a time when we give thanks to God.

As Christians, it is important for us to focus on what we all can give thanks for. Some will gather around Thanksgiving dinner tables this year and their cup will be full — good health, an intact family, a new baby welcomed, a marriage begun, a long-sought goal achieved.

But, for others, it will be a different story — a member of the family will be absent around the table this year, perhaps through death, divorce, distance, or estrangement. Perhaps a job was lost, or there was a financial setback, a home lost through repossession, a frightening medical diagnosis.

No matter our circumstance, we give thanks that God loves us so much He sent Jesus to save us from our sins.

I am reminded of a story about Dr. Alexander Whyte, the great Scottish preacher. He was known for his profound pastoral prayers — which were marked by expressions of thanksgiving to God.

One bitter cold winter morning in Edinburgh, during a hard driving rain, the two deacons who opened the church doors were talking to one another. The one said, “I don’t suppose Dr. Whyte will have anything to give thanks for on a morning like this.”

But, when Dr. Whyte took the pulpit, his prayer began with these words, “O God, we thank you that it is not always like this!”

Dr. Whyte’s example teaches us that we can always find something to be grateful for!

My pastoral concern is this: What can each of us give thanks for — whether we are in the best of times or the worst of times? And, what unites Christians in Thanksgiving in every place — whether we are in our wonderful land, the United States of America, or a follower of Jesus in North Korea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Cuba, or Syria?

Here is where we must distinguish the temporal from the eternal.

Yes, we do give thanks for the temporal — for the blessings of liberty, for good shelter and food, for family and health. But, we also recognize that many live without those blessings.

So, let’s make sure at this Thanksgiving we put on the eyeglasses of our Christian faith and thank God for all the blessings that are not measured by this world’s values.

Writing from a prison cell, with no Thanksgiving turkey on his plate, the apostle Paul tells us: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12).

What’s the secret to such an attitude? Paul tells us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! … Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:4,7).

No matter our circumstance, we give thanks that God loves us so much He sent Jesus to save us from our sins. We are grateful for God’s forgiveness, for the gift of eternal life, for a home that is being prepared for us in heaven. We thank Him for fellow believers, for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for godly men and women who have influenced us to live rightly, for God’s Word that is a lamp to our feet and a light for our steps.

Oh, there are so many ways to count our blessings!

The apostle Paul felt such gratitude for Jesus that when he couldn’t find all the right words to say, he summed it up this way: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

So, at this Thanksgiving let’s follow the counsel of the psalmist: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever ... [G]ive thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (Psalm 107:1,8). “[G]ive thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness … sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High” (7:17). “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (100:4).