Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:18
It’s easy to be thankful for God’s gifts and blessings. How is it possible to have a grateful attitude when life gets complicated or painful? Does it mean I adopt some artificial smile to grin and bear it? Do I pretend that pain doesn’t hurt, that I like what is happening, that it’s okay?
When life puts us in a spin cycle, and we don’t know whether we’re up or down, it’s not just hard to be grateful; it's next to impossible.
How Can I Practice This?
So what do we do with the command from I Thessalonians? How can we develop gratitude that doesn’t pretend that hard times don’t hurt?
The answer is in the two-letter word “in.” We don’t thank God for bad times; we thank Him in hard times. A gratitude attitude is a vote of confidence in our God, who does all things right but in His time, not ours. It is embracing the truth that God has the power to work in us instead of expecting Him to work in our circumstances so we don’t have to change.
When I Wasn't Thankful For . . .
I will never forget meeting with our daughter’s medical team when they carefully and sensitively said it was time to talk about palliative care and end-of-life. because no surgery or medication would save her life. Her heart was damaged beyond repair, and her body wouldn’t survive heroic efforts of any kind.
In that horrible circumstance when my world turned upside down, I knew God was in that room, surrounding me with a presence of peace and stability that did not come from what the medical team said.
Was I thankful for this time? No. I would have done anything to turn it around. But I can say I was more than grateful that in the pain of that moment, God was there in a reality that defied everything I heard and felt. I was not alone in the unknown about how, when, or why. I was overwhelmed by the One who would not leave me alone on this journey. Not for a nanosecond.
Being thankful in circumstances
Is another way of saying not my will but your will be done in me, around me, for me, and through me.
Allows me to live in politically charged times with the quiet confidence that God is NOT absent and is working behind the scenes to reveal His work at the right time.
Means that life's twists and turns can rattle my cage but not the security in my heart.
Frees me to accept the peace God grants as I let Him chart the way and refuse to complicate His plan.
Helps me celebrate who God is when there isn’t much else to celebrate.
And maybe most important of all . . .
Being thankful in circumstances . . .
Reminds me that God’s active presence protects me from the very worst—the pit where I have no hope or help.
This Thanksgiving, I am learning to practice gratitude in the small inconveniences and struggles because it prepares me to start with gratitude to God for His all-seeing and all-knowing presence when life isn’t smooth, easy, or fun.
In, it’s just one little word. However, when I live in gratitude, I see more of God’s work around me and in me and I become more thankful.
This Thanksgiving season,
No matter what the season brings,
May God bring you so close to Him
That gratitude for Who He is
Becomes your first response
In the hard times and
For the good times.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
I Chronicles 16:3
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