“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Thess. 5:18, “The Message Bible”)
The holidays have been a mixed bag for me. Some years have been wonderful, others not so much. I can remember in the not-too-distant past coming to the holidays feeling like I didn’t have a whole lot to be thankful for. Which was hard for me because this is my favorite time of year.
I’m thankful it isn’t like that now. But through those difficult seasons we learned something very important.
Don’t worry; I’m not going to give you some trite all-you-need-is-Jesus speech here. When you’re going through a hard time, it hurts, and sometimes the holidays can amplify the pain. Getting all religious about poverty, loneliness, sickness or trauma isn’t the answer, and I don’t believe Jesus Himself buys into that. Even when He appears to be silent in our pain, He doesn’t take pleasure in our pain.
But what I will say is simply what God says: Give thanks in all things.
Give thanks when times are good. Give thanks when times are bad. Have a thankful heart. No matter what. If you can’t think of anything to be thankful for…thank God for the breath in your lungs. No, seriously.
There are reasons why we should do this–and not religious ones.
When we go through difficult times, sometimes our vision narrows so that we have a hard time seeing anything but our problems. And of course, that makes us feel like we have nothing to be thankful for. The longer we do this…the more bitter and ungrateful we can become, and the worse things can look…a vicious cycle.
But when we choose to recount God’s goodness, even in the simplest of terms, and be thankful to Him in the midst…I’ve found that it opens our eyes, and we begin to notice other blessings we didn’t even realize were there. We begin to see more evidence that God is at work in our lives, and we begin to see even more reasons to give thanks. And I even believe that a grateful heart opens the door for more blessing, and it breeds peace and trust even in the midst of hardship.
In my own life, I found that the path through the hardship went a lot easier for me when I chose to lean upon the Lord with a thankful heart. The hardship didn’t end right away…but it became much easier to endure. Eventually things did change for the better. But I got better on the inside before my circumstances improved on the outside–and a lot of that had to do with having a thankful heart. A thankful heart is far more able to trust in the Lord.
So all that to say…I truly hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving, no matter what your circumstances are. Thank God for the blessings in your life. Thank God no matter what happens. This is His will for us.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May God richly bless you.
Wayward Son
Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo.
I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.
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Pastor Jeff,
I had to link to this post, I like what you said. It also reminded me of Habakkuk 3:17-18.
3:17 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls,18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.
Easily said, not so easily done.
Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.
Indeed – give thanks with a grateful heart.