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The Heart of Thanksgiving - NaPodPoMo 2025 #27 · Randy Unscripted

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  Randy Black: Randy Black.
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  Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. He's a troublemaker. Welcome back to Randy Unscripted,
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  and I'm Randy Black. This is another episode in our napod promo twenty twenty five series with the goal of producing a podcast episode for National Podcast Post Month
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  every day in the month of November.
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  This is the twenty seventh episode in that series on our goal of 30 episodes in thirty days. We're almost there. The end is in sight.
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  More importantly, today
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  is Thanksgiving.
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  Happy Thanksgiving.
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  Today's the day.
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  After walking through the history, the tradition,
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  the civic virtue, and the voices that shape American gratitude,
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  we arrive at the heart of it all,
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  the spiritual meaning
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  of thanksgiving.
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  For believers, thanksgiving isn't just a holiday on the calendar.
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  It's a command,
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  a posture,
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  and a way of life.
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  And on a day when the nation pauses to give thanks, it's worth taking a moment to anchor ourselves not only in Turkey and traditions,
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  but in what Scripture
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  actually teaches
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  about gratitude.
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  So today,
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  we're going to look at the spiritual foundations of thanksgiving through God's word and hopefully rediscover why giving thanks is not just good for us,
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  but essential
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  to a life of faith.
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  The Bible
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  doesn't treat gratitude
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  as an optional spiritual practice.
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  Psalms 100 verse four says,
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  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
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  and into his courts with praise.
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  Be thankful unto him and bless his name.
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  And first Thessalonians five eighteen tells us plainly,
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  in everything give thanks
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  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
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  God doesn't tell us to be thankful because everything in life is good.
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  He tells us to be thankful
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  because
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  He is good.
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  Thanksgiving is an act of trust.
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  It's a declaration of faith,
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  and it's a reminder that God's sovereignty is bigger than our own circumstances.
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  When we give thanks, something happens inside us.
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  Our focus shifts from what we lack to what God has given,
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  from fear to trust,
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  from anxiety
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  to peace,
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  from self sufficiency
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  to dependence
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  on him.
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  Philippians chapter four verses six and seven
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  gives a beautiful promise to us.
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  Be careful for nothing,
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  but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
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  unto God,
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  and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
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  shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.
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  Thanksgiving doesn't just acknowledge blessings.
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  It reorients
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  our
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  entire
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  spiritual center.
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  It pulls us back into alignment with God
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  who holds all things together.
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  Throughout Scripture,
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  God calls His people to remember,
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  to look back,
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  to tell the stories again.
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  In Deuteronomy,
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  in the Psalms,
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  in the prophets,
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  the people of God are instructed to rehearse his goodness so they won't forget it.
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  Psalms one zero three verse two says,
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  bless the Lord,
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  oh my soul,
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  and forget not all his benefits.
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  Thanksgiving
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  at its core
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  is a spiritual discipline of remembering.
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  Remembering that God has saved us,
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  that God has sustained us,
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  that God has provided for us,
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  that God has walked with us through trials,
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  and
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  that God has not failed us.
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  When we give thanks today,
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  we're not just remembering the last twelve months.
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  We're remembering his faithfulness through all the years that are behind us.
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  Thanksgiving is easy when life is easy.
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  It becomes powerful
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  when life is not.
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  Some of you listening today are carrying grief and loss,
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  anxiety,
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  broken relationships,
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  financial strain, or uncertainty about the future.
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  Thanksgiving might feel harder than usual this year.
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  Scripture
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  does not ignore suffering.
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  It speaks right into it.
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  Psalm 3four 18 says, The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such
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  as be of a contrite spirit.
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  Gratitude and suffering is not pretending everything is fine.
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  It is declaring that God is still faithful
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  even here.
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  The earliest Thanksgivings
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  in American history were born out of hardship,
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  harsh winters, scarcity, loss, war, and rebuilding,
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  and yet
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  through tears and trials,
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  people gave thanks.
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  In that way,
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  the holiday mirrors the spiritual life. Sometimes Thanksgiving is whispered through pain,
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  but is still heard by God.
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  Biblical Thanksgiving
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  always leads
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  somewhere.
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  It produces fruit like generosity,
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  compassion,
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  hospitality,
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  worship, and joyful obedience.
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  Psalms one zero seven verse 22 says, and let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing.
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  Thankfulness isn't quiet.
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  It overflows.
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  It moves outward into how we treat others.
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  So on this Thanksgiving Day, maybe the most meaningful act of gratitude
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  isn't just what you say,
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  it's what you do.
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  You know, a phone call to someone who's lonely,
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  a kind word spoken
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  across the family table,
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  a moment of forgiveness,
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  a shared meal with someone in need, or a renewed commitment
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  to walk closer with God.
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  Gratitude becomes
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  most powerful
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  when it becomes visible.
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  Before we close, I want to take just a moment and invite you wherever you're listening to pause with me.
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  Think
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  of
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  one thing
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  God has done for you this year.
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  One moment of grace,
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  one prayer answered or
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  or even one prayer still unanswered
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  but held in hope.
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  And here are the words of Psalm
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  one thirty six verse one,
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  Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good,
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  for His mercy endureth forever.
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  That verse carried Israel through generations,
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  and it can still carry us too.
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  As we celebrate this day,
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  may we remember that Thanksgiving is not about perfection,
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  it's about perspective.
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  Not about abundance,
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  but about awareness.
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  It's not about what's on the table,
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  but who sets
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  on the throne in heaven.
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  May your home be filled with gratitude,
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  and may your heart be filled with peace,
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  and may your day be filled with reminders of the goodness
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  of God above.
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  Happy Thanksgiving,
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  and thank you for joining me on today's episode of Randy Unscripted
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  as we continue this journey walking through napod promo,
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  national podcast post month, with the goal of producing 30 episodes in thirty days. I hope you'll come back tomorrow.
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  I'm Randy, and this has been Randy Unscripted.