When Being Thankful is Hard
There are many days when I crawl out of bed and the thought of being thankful is nearly nonexistent. Life can be busy, hard, complicated and thankfulness seems like a random puzzle piece.
Why does thankfulness seem so easy for some but impossible for me?
Thankfulness is not always automatic—at times it has to be a choice.
Life can be stuffed with joy at times but I am not ignoring that this world also contains pain.
Maybe you are going through depression or grieving the loss of a loved one. This may be a season of your life when you are drowning in sorrow and you are too buried to feel the sun’s warmth. Your life feels like an inescapable, dense fog that weighs heavily on your heart.
Maybe your busy schedule gives little to no time to rest.
I want to say that I have experienced hurt, doubt, and busyness.
There are times when thankfulness is the last thing you want to think about, much less try to express. No matter how hard it is to be thankful, it is something we can not abandon—in fact, God commands it.
Thankfulness is not a weight crushing you. Instead, it is a lifesaver that will raise you to the surface.
So how, in the midst of life’s greatest challenges, can you go about being thankful?
1. Thankfulness for the Hurting One
Why be thankful when it feels like your world is falling apart?
Suffering is real. I do not know what you are enduring, whether it be a death, a diagnosis, or struggling in a relationship, among many other horrendous troubles. Suffering claws at the heart, snatches your breath, and drives a whirlwind of blinding hurt and confusion.
In the midst of such a storm, the thought of being thankful seems to reside on a shoreline a million miles away.
Thankfulness seems like a cruel joke.
Friend, no matter where you are, you have not escaped God’s eyesight.
“Where should I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I feel from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me by night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (Ps. 139:7-12)
What an incredible passage! So how should you respond when you feel like you are dwelling in hell, or stranded alone in the waters, or swallowed by the night? God says that he is present, that he is still in control, and is holding you. How can you respond to this truth? You get to respond in thankfulness.
You are not forgotten, so give thanks. Your night is like day in the sight of God, so give thanks. He knows what your future holds, so give thanks.
Your difficult circumstance is no match for God!
I am in no way trying to make light of your circumstance. However, what I am communicating is that while the weight is unmanageable for you it is lighter than a feather in God’s hand.
“Your difficult circumstance is no match for God!”
I hope to encourage you to cast your suffering on God and give thanks in the midst of the difficult.
Cast your cares on God. Let him wipe your eyes and hold your heart, and I urge you to give thanks to your Comforter.
2. Thankfulness for the Doubting One
Why be thankful when you question God’s validity?
There have been several times in my life when I experienced seasons of doubt.
Am I Christian? What do I believe? What if I am missing something with Christianity?
I’m not sure what doubts you are wrestling with but I know the seasons of doubt I faced were some of the most difficult and depressing moments in my life. My doubts were overwhelming.
Do you want to know what was lacking during those moments of depression? Thankfulness.
To me being thankful when I was doubting was like driving my car without tires. Impossible. Looking back I believe I can now identify what my problem was. While I was doubting God I had forgotten about God. I was so consumed with myself and questions that I forgot God was the only One who could answer my questions and give me joy.
Thankfulness towards God is the driving force of joy.
Even in the midst of doubt and struggle, choosing to give thanks to God will give you relief.
“THankfulness towards God Is the driving force of joy.”
One of my favorite examples of someone doubting in the Bible was John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin and fulfilled the prophet Isaiah’s words saying, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” (Isa. 40:3)
In the book of Matthew, John the Baptist had his followers go to Jesus and ask if he was the Messiah or if they should search for someone else. (Matt. 11:3) John the Baptist passionately declared the coming of Jesus. His ears soaked in the voice of God the Father proclaiming Christ as his Son. His eyes captured the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove. (Matt. 3:16-17)
Why would John of all people doubt who Jesus was?
Jesus did not respond to John’s question out of anger but instead lavished his grace. “And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matt.11:4-5)
Surely John was thankful for Jesus’ words and rejoiced over the work God was doing.
If you are scared of approaching God because you think he will be disappointed or angry with you—don’t be. His reaction to your questions will not shock him. Instead, his response will be like Jesus’ towards John. He wants you to pour out your questions on him and he will welcome you with open arms. How thankful I am that my God does not get angry when I have doubts but calls me to rest in his embrace. Don’t hide, run towards the Father and be thankful for the love he has for you. He knows every layer of your heart and every doubt you beat.
In response to knowing that you are fully known, I encourage you to choose to give thanks.
“Don’t hide, run towards the father and be thankful for the love he has for you. He knows every layer of your heart and every doubt you beat.”
In the depths of the fog and darkness of depression and the clamour of confusion, I encourage you to run to God and pray that he will lead you to his light. I pray that giving thanks will produce joy and this season of doubt will settle as you cling to the One who has all the answers.
“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Ps. 55:22)
3. Thankfulness for the Busy One?
Why be thankful when you struggle to sit still?
I think we have all had times of busyness. Whether it is the constant to-do lists, stuffed calendars, and at times realizing that your only time of rest is your night's sleep. Just because some times may be busier than others doesn’t mean your busyness is good.
Busyness will oftentimes steal thankfulness simply because you “don’t have time for it.” I would encourage you to stop looking at the next thing and rest on what you can be thankful for around you.
So how can you be thankful when it feels like every task and event is dragging you down?
Rest.
God created you to rest.
In fact, God, who is never weary, established resting on the seventh day of Creation. This was a way of God proclaiming that he designed us to rest.
“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Gen. 2:3)
You are unable to be everything for everyone. You are incapable of being omnipresent. You will try your hardest and you will still fail. So rest and give thanks in His strength and goodness. Let Christ be your everything, be mindful of his presence, and know that he is in control of your schedule and the lives of those around you.
I am not encouraging you to chuck your to-do list in the garbage bin. Rather, I am encouraging you to give thanks for your limitations and be productive under the authority of God.
“Let Christ be you everything, be mindful of his presence, and know that he is in control of your schedule and the lives of those around you.”
Do your best, work hard, and take the time to be thankful in whatever present circumstance you are facing.
C. J. Mahaney profoundly states, “Only God gets his to-do lists done each day.” [i] Only God accomplishes all of his plans. Thank God he does and not I!
What if you woke up each day to glorify God rather than to check each box on your list? How much better would your life be as you became a good steward of your time and held your day with open hands? I pray that I begin living my life this way.
In the midst of cleaning the house or keeping your commitments, be thankful for his gifts and rest in the one who gives you good gifts that you can be thankful for.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. (Ps. 23:1-3a)
Please feel free to email me at alannahbryantwrites@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!
[i] C. J. Mahaney, Biblical Productivity, p.36
