From the Pastor’s Pen November 2026: Thanksgiving as Medicine
This time of year, we tend to have thanksgiving on our minds quite a bit, and so it’s a good time to remember (or learn) some of why the Lord gives to us the gift of giving thanks. This year, I think it’s good to consider the gift of thanksgiving as a sort of medicine that our Lord gives to us to fight against things like anxiety.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:4–7
This is a text I’m sure you’re quite familiar with, at least on the surface. Particularly, we tend to know the beginning, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and the end, “the peace of God which surpasses understanding…”
Interestingly, though, I don’t know that we pay much attention to the middle part between the two. What’s connecting our rejoicing in the Lord and our peace with God to each other?
St. Paul commands us to bring to the Lord in prayer and supplication all things, and to do so with thanksgiving. This, he notes, is the antidote (or medicine) against anxiety. And this flows from our rejoicing in the Lord and culminates in our dwelling in God’s peace.
There’s been much in the news and social sciences in recent years talking about the anxiety which is so prevalent in the younger generations right now (and that’s true). But we should remember that anxiety isn’t limited to those who are younger. What we are anxious about tends to simply shift instead of the anxiety going away.
Nor is anxiety a problem unique to modernity, since we see our Lord addressing this specifically in a number of places. So, to fight against our anxiety, the Lord through St. Paul prescribes thanksgiving. And to understand why, it’s helpful to understand what exactly anxiety is doing and how thanksgiving is redirecting those things.
Thanksgiving and Gratitude
First, though, a quick note: thanksgiving and gratitude are not the same. Thanksgiving is directed toward the giver, whereas gratitude is directed toward the gift. So, you can be thankful that someone gave you some sort of gift even if you are not grateful for the gift itself. And this is important in our directing thanksgiving toward the Lord.
When we are anxious, there are three things going on in the background of that. First, I’m directed at the things which are in the future. Second, I’m directed at the things which are not yet completed. And third, I’m directed at myself.
So, I’m anxious about my upcoming exam, interview, or meeting because it’s in the future, it hasn’t happened yet, and it’s something I have to attend to.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, redirects all of this. First, instead of being directed at the future, I get directed at the present (what have I been given now?). Second, I get directed toward things which have been accomplished already (what has already been done?). And third, I get directed toward someone else (in this case, the Lord Himself) who is doing the things toward and for me.
So, I give thanks to God for the things which I currently have, which have come from His fatherly hand, and I’m fully reoriented away from the things which cause my anxiety and toward the things which God gives for my joy and through which I know that I am at peace with Him.
Beginning and Ending Each Day with Thanksgiving
Practically speaking, one of the ways to address this in our lives is to begin the day and end the day with thanksgiving. This is something Luther actually hints at in the Morning and Evening Prayers (“I thank You, my heavenly Father…”).
This causes us to start the day directed away from the things which cause us anxiety and to also end the day directed away from those things. Instead, we remember all the gifts, blessings, joy, and peace which the Lord has to bestow on us. These are things which are already accomplished, already given, and flow fully from His fatherly divine goodness and mercy.
So, not just this Thanksgiving, but every day, let us start and end our days by giving thanks. And let us attend to what St. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians as well, knowing that through this we sit also in the joy and eternal peace of the Lord.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Soli Deo Gloria,