Thankfulness When Life Is Hard
It's that time of year; literally, it's next week, for us to (hypothetically) gather around the table with family or friends and share a meal while intentionally thinking or explaining the things we're thankful for. For some people, that may be an easy and joyous thing to do, but for others that could be far from easy.Maybe nothing in life seems good to you right now. Or maybe, everything looks good and so you should feel good, but you still don't. Perhaps, you are in a whole different boat, and life is great! That is good! What I hope to shed some insight on is gaining a mindset of adapting the trait thankfulness when it feels like you don't have much to be thankful for.The only way I could think to start that off is by sharing the only good thing that exists in this universe, and that is God.God is who the Bible says He is, and He will always remain as such. He is the same God that created the heavens and stars and planet we live on, the same God that was around when cavemen roamed the earth, during ancient times, during the invention of electricity and in present life.For whatever kind of lemons are being thrown at you, that same God of the universe is presently working things out for his GLORY and believe it or not, He's doing it while being right at your side.There are plenty of passages throughout the Bible that highlight that goodness of God and explain who He is.
1 John 1:5- “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”James 1:17- “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”Luke 18:19- “And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”Psalm 34:8- “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”Psalm 107:1- “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”Romans 8:28- “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”Romans 12:2- “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
If you feel something in you right now after reading those words- that is the Holy Spirit inviting you to lean in and believe. Don’t turn that feeling away, follow it! Talk to someone who knows Jesus about that. I bet they'd love to help you decipher that.See, these aren’t just words of advice, these are descriptive character traits of God. So taking this, let’s add another piece; our earthly circumstances.
To some extent, we’ve all experienced hardship; job loss, lack of money, bad relationships, abuse, racism, classism, abandonment, death of someone we love.I understand hardship. I’ve lost 4 important people in my life between April and October. I’ve lost jobs, I’ve failed college classes, I’ve been in an abusive relationship, I’ve gone through and am going through a difficult time within my marriage. Take heart though, and know that God only creates good things, so these bad things aren’t created by Him but by Satan. However, God can use bad things that happen to us for good in the long run. Sometimes that only good thing is that it broke us down enough and bought us to such a dark and lonely place that we could finally see Him and His Son Jesus and accept them into our hearts.An article I read left this quote at its end, as a challenge to its readers and to the writer herself-“Trust God more, believe him better, know him deeper”- Debra Fileta
“Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than an ungrateful heart. And nothing will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation than a true spirit of thankfulness.”“An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how dependent we are on God for everything.” -Billy Graham
We all have something we can be thankful for. Maybe, in all honesty, it’s that your car started today and you got to work to make some money. Maybe you had some good lunch that you don’t get to have often. Maybe you are very blessed. Maybe you have the worst luck. I don’t know where each of us fall, but I do know God woke us up this morning! Y’all that is a BLESSING.Real talk- someone, many someone's, all around the world, didn’t have that opportunity today, and took their last breath last night. For some people, this could've been unfortunate if they didn’t have Christ’s forgiveness cloaking them as they stood before God to be judged and were sentenced to an eternity without Him.In reality, everyday is a gift from God, because it’s either another, merciful opportunity he’s given you to get right with Him or to shower His love with those you encounter.
“I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” -John 6:35
This week I found this article about making the most of Jesus this Thanksgiving, with some ideas of how to do that with your family and kids. It was so neat, and I came away with tangible ideas on how to make the most of Jesus this Thanksgiving and every day after it from next week on.God never promised life to be easy. He promised He wouldn't leave our sides, but He didn't promise a life of ease. I'm sorry if life has got your spirits down as we walk into what should be a joy-filled holiday season. I pray you find comfort in all that God says He is. I know for sure He's my ultimate comfort this holiday season, and I hope that can attest to the truth that God is real and the gospel is true. He is light and He can bring life even in the darkest of days.