The Patriot Post® · Thanksgiving: Fear Fades in the Light of Gratitude and Hope
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” —Psalm 100:4-5
Next week, our daughter is marrying her longtime sweetheart, which is to say the ops tempo around our house has been a bit higher paced than usual. She is our only daughter, and her brothers understand that she is my favorite, as it should be! She and her betrothed are both dedicated young Patriots and, as steadfast defenders of Liberty, represent hope for the future of our nation.
The preparation for their wedding and Thanksgiving this week did not preclude our joining friends last Saturday for a conference on the faithful contexts for fear, gratitude, and hope.
If you wade through the deep muck of the current threats to American Liberty, as your Patriot Post team does 24/7/365, discouragement about our nation’s future sometimes creeps in through the cracks. Because many of our editors and staff have young children, at times that discouragement can manifest in a degree of fear about the challenges they will face in the future.
Many of you reading this message have experienced some level of discouragement in recent weeks and maybe a degree of fear, but allow me to offer you a few words of encouragement.
At the faith conference last Saturday, we were asked this question: “Do you fear for your family, your community, and our country?”
My answer was, flatly, “NO!” I was not alone in that answer, and here is why.
Fear often resides in the assumption that there is no power greater than our own, and that errant assumption can lead to desperation and darkness.
I reminded those in our group that in modern translations of the Bible you will find variations of the theme “Fear Not” or advice on handling fear 365 times. In every case, the message is that our Creator has our back.
When our kids were young, I instilled in them the principle that when feeling fearful or lost, they could restore hope again in the expression of gratitude and service to others. Indeed, amid the daily din, being mindfully grateful for simple blessings and mercies pays rich dividends in the currency of hope.
And that principle of expressing gratitude has sustained and renewed my hope for the future of our family, our community, and our country, through many challenging seasons. It empowers all of us at Patriot Post to approach our daily charge with optimism and vigor.
That expression was framed well by Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all the others.”
To that end, please pause with us this Thanksgiving to reflect upon how blessed we really are — blessed far beyond any measure of what we deserve. We are grateful for many blessings and mercies, and especially for the large fellowship of Patriot brothers and sisters bound together by our devotion to Liberty.
To put our National Day of Thanksgiving into proper context is to express gratitude. In that spirit, especially on this 401st anniversary of the First Thanksgiving, I invite you to read this compelling “History and Legacy of Our National Thanksgiving” and share it with others.
From the extraordinary journal of Mayflower Compact signer and Plymouth Governor William Bradford: “Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation.”
President George Washington, in his First Thanksgiving Proclamation, declared: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor … I do recommend and assign [this Thanksgiving Day] to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”
In President Ronald Reagan’s final Thanksgiving message, he wrote: “We Americans have so much for which to be thankful… But prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace. … We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It’s there; it’s sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams. Think of those around the world who cannot bow their heads in prayer without risking their lives. … And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans. Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord’s blessings. … Let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.”
Indeed.
Patriot sisters and brothers, especially in this season, contemplate all that is good and right: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
For some added inspiration from the mountains of East Tennessee, enjoy listening to “My Beautiful America” by a fellow Tennessean, the late Charlie Daniels.
Please join us in prayer for our nation’s military Patriots standing in harm’s way, and for their families through their deployments. I also ask the favor of your prayer for our mission, which is first and foremost “to support and defend” our Republic’s Founding Principles — the Liberty endowed by our Creator — and to ignite the fires of freedom in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.
Thank you for the privilege of serving as editor and publisher of The Patriot Post and for
In Washington’s words: “Our cause is noble; it is the cause of all mankind! … Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions.”
On behalf of your Patriot team and National Advisory Committee, have a grateful and hopeful Thanksgiving. We pray God’s blessings upon you and your family.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
Join us in prayer for our nation’s Military Patriots standing in harm’s way, for our First Responders, and for their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic’s Founding Principle of Liberty, in order to ignite the fires of freedom in the hearts and minds of our countrymen. Thank you for supporting our nation’s premier online journal of Liberty.