Being Thankful Even if it Hurts

Yesterday, I welcomed this week of Thanksgiving. One day isn’t enough for us to express our gratitude for God’s goodness and mercy for so many blessings. But Thanksgiving isn't always a joyous and thankful time for everyone.

I know that some people are hurting so much and being thankful is hard to come by.  I’ve been there in a wallow of self-pity, and I know those feelings. Still, we ALWAYS have something to be thankful for. But when we’re in a season of distress, it’s enough to get out of bed in the morning and to put one foot in front of the other.

I'm thinking about those in North Carolina who no longer have a home to go to; for those family members who lost their loved ones in the floods. Then there is the medical test that comes back positive. A spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan.

God seems so far away, and to praise and thank God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of our will to let go of it all before a God we sometimes don't understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and He's up to something good and can be trusted. When we choose to praise God despite the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper.

The Apostle Paul set a good example for us. He wrote, “In everything give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) How could he be thankful in everything, in imprisonments, in beatings, in all kinds of adversity that most people would find unbearable?

It is because Paul was a “pilgrim” of a different sort, one who trusted God to take care of him in the very best way. He didn’t say “Give thanks FOR all things”, but “give thanks IN all things”. “In spite of all this painful stuff, I give YOU thanks, Almighty God!"

Today, I offer this prayer for all of us:
“Lord, please teach us to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all our daily experiences of life. You promised that you would be near to the brokenhearted. Please be near to us today, so that we feel Your closeness and your warm embrace.

Teach us the power of a thankful heart – no matter what! May this be our song every day: “I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 7:17-18:1). In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.