Being Thankful in Difficult Times

23 Nov Being Thankful in Difficult Times

In the United States this week, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday set aside to give thanks to God for His blessings on us as a nation.

Its origin was a “First Thanksgiving” celebrated by 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans in October 1621. It was a three-day feast for celebrating a bountiful harvest after a very difficult year, and for thanking God for his providential blessing.

In 1789, President Washington proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving and it has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens,” to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.

In spite of the historic popularity of this holiday, frankly, many this year are struggling with Thanksgiving because of the damage being done to our nation through cultural and political upheaval from forces who reject God and His values.

And while Christians understandably lament the damage being done to our nation by the forces of godlessness, this is – nevertheless – a perfect time to cultivate and nurture thankfulness/gratitude for His blessings.

Cultivate a thankful heart

First, because, while our country is being ravaged by evil forces who have gained control of power centers, there is still a supermajority of individuals who embrace traditional American and biblical values. Further, we can be grateful to God that He still answers prayer and He still gives us the “dignity of causality” (as Pascal once said) to pray and work for a restoration of biblical values.

In Jeremiah 29:7, the Jews who were sent to exile in Babylon were instructed to “seek the prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.”

We can do the same for our country and be thankful that we can nurture hope for the future in spite of the peril of the moment.

Second, we can be grateful because, as Christians, we are members of two realms: an earthly realm and a heavenly realm.  As much as we might love our earthly realm, and as hard as we might pray and work for its welfare, we put our ultimate hope in our heavenly realm. For Christians, no matter how bad things might be on earth, in the end in the heavenly realm, all will be well (Revelation 21:4).

Third, we should never let negative things obscure our perception of, and gratitude for, our good divine blessings. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

As we look at all the good things in our lives and as we consciously thank God for them, we nurture a spirit of gratitude that is a blessing to us and pleasing to the Lord.

How is nurturing a spirit of gratitude a blessing to us?

Many studies have been done that reveal what a profound benefit it is to have a grateful heart.

Harvard Health Publishing, a publication of Harvard Medical School, reports, “In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.”

Psychology Today reports that gratitude leads to a happier life. Its focus is on the present and appreciation for what we have now, rather than being held captive to wanting more.

Gratitude turns our mental focus to the positive, which compensates for our brain’s natural tendency to focus on threats, worries, and negative aspects of life. As such, gratitude creates positive emotions like joy, love, and contentment which research shows can undo the grip of negative emotions like anxiety.

Fostering gratitude can also broaden our thinking, and create positive cycles of thinking and behaving in healthy, positive ways.

How is our gratitude pleasing to the Lord?

The Bible says a great deal about thankfulness and gratitude.

• “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Psalm 50:1
• “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.” Psalm 100:4
• “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2:6-8

If we are in touch with reality, we will be grateful, knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us and supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Fourth, cultivate an eternal perspective. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We can take comfort that while not all things are good, all things work together for good.  And… that may mean ultimately in heaven. But in the end, God will work good through everything.

Then, Scripture tells us that there is nothing we do for God, or sacrifice we make for God, that He will not reward, many times over, in heaven. Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

As missionary Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”

So, we focus on eternal truth as the basis for our ultimate happiness, and in doing so, can be grateful to God.

Finally, take practical steps to nurture gratitude and thankfulness.

• Say “please” and “thank you.”
• Smile at others.
• Write thank you notes or emails, or give “thank you” gifts.
• Compliment others.
• Don’t complain or criticize.
• Put pleasantness in your voice when you talk on the phone.
• Follow the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
• Apologize, if necessary
• Forgive, if necessary
• Choose to be a positive person

Take this Thanksgiving season to become a more grateful person. It will make you happier and healthier, and will give you a greater positive impact on others.

Conclusion

Some time ago, I was pondering Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

It occurred to me that I could add thanksgiving to my prayer list. I had a list of the things I wanted to pray about. That fulfilled the admonition to “let your requests be made known to God.”

But then, it occurred to me that I could create another list of things I was grateful for. So, after I get through my list of requests, I now go to a list of things I’m thankful for, and I read through that list, thanking God for all of them.

These are not little things, like “I’m thankful it didn’t rain yesterday because I wanted to mow the lawn.” Rather, they are the major things, the life-important things, things that have to do with your salvation, with your loved ones, with temporal blessings, with the hope of heaven, and so forth. Just make a list and start.

Then refine the list as time goes on – perhaps putting new things on, taking old things off – so that your list reflects the bottom-line list of things for which you are deeply grateful, and add it to your prayer time.

See if it doesn’t add a new dimension to your prayer as you, “by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

With this perspective, even in the midst of difficult times in our nation (and around the world), we can still celebrate this Thanksgiving Day and give thanks with a grateful heart to our God for His many blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

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