We are all under stress.  Job demands, family concerns, financial worries, health problems and more.  Maybe you view Thanksgiving as a temporary hiding place for your stress, drowning it in calories.  But it can actually be much more than that.

It turns out that giving thanks can be the key step toward relieving the stress you’re carrying.  Very often our stress shows up as worry, frustration, and anxiety.  But you can actually start to replace all that junk with peace.  And it begins with giving thanks.  Listen to what God has to say about this in Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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. [emphasis added]

Translation: take all that stress, take it to God, and begin with thanksgiving!  I can’t explain exactly HOW this works.  I can only state THAT it works.  I experience it on a regular basis.  When the stress begins to mount, I turn to God in prayer.  And when I begin with giving thanks, it starts to change everything.  Beginning with me.  And the peace of God starts to invade my stressed out mind.  Giving thanks literally changes my life.  It happens so often it’s almost like breathing.  It can happen for you, too.

So this year, don’t let Thanksgiving be an escape from your life.  Let it be a habit that actually transforms your (stressed out) life.  Try it.  You’ve got nothing to lose but your stress!

-Pastor Mark