Most years, I try my best to put out posts that talk about what I am thankful for during the month leading up to Thanksgiving here in the US. Some years, it is easy to look back at the past year and see many things I can be thankful for, and other years, I struggle to know what to say. This year has had many ups and downs, and for most of the year, I have been struggling to see the bright side of things.
While I could wax eloquent about the things I am thankful for, most of it was covered in last year’s post, “Season of Thankfulness.” It still holds true this year!
One thing I have been learning about thankfulness is how to be thankful in every circumstance. I feel like it is almost cliché to quote 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (NIV, emphasis mine). Yet, I think there is something in those verses that is important for us to remember when we are thinking about the spirit of thankfulness.
“Rejoice always.” Wow, who can honestly say they are ALWAYS rejoicing? Or taking a step back, what does it even mean to rejoice? To rejoice, in this context, means to “experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to exult” (Webster 1828). I know that I struggle to experience joy and gladness, sometimes even every day, much less always.
“Pray continually.” How often do you pray? Honestly? Once a day? At meals? Once a week? Multiple times a day? We should be in the habit of prayer continually! Praying for the things that trouble us, for the things that bring joy, gladness, laughter, the concerns of our heart. Prayer is much more than just bringing a request to God. It is a conversation in which we can bring anything and everything to God. From the mundane of what it is that we are having for breakfast, to the pouring out of our hearts in grief over the loss of a loved one, and anything else. I won’t say I am perfect at this. I realized a few months ago that my prayer life was not in a good place, and I regretted that I had fallen out of this habit. But the great thing about prayer is that once you realize that, there is no barrier to entry! We can just bring that to God in prayer.
“Give thanks in all circumstances.” For many, we are in circumstances that do not lend themselves to wanting to give thanks. Be that struggling financially, experiencing war, facing natural disasters, either personally or seeing a loved one pass on or face illness. So much in this world can get us down. We live in a time where anxiety and depression are at an all-time high. A recent Gallup poll showed that rates of depression are 10% higher today than they were in 2015. Yet, we are called to give thanks even when the weight of the brokenness of the world feels like it is crashing in around us. The Greek phrase we read here as “give thanks” is “eucharisteō” which means to actively relate gratitude, often seen in prayer, for example, giving grace for a meal. What this shows us is that giving thanks relates back to the other phrases, where we are giving over the things that are troubling us to God.
One thing I want to note is that I am not saying we cannot be thankful for the sake of being thankful. There are times where it is easy to be thankful for specific things that we have or that are happening around us. We can be thankful for a meal, for a note from a friend, for a thoughtful gesture, and when our daily needs are met. It is when we go beyond these things and learn to be thankful for the things we do not understand when we understand more fully what the spirit of thankfulness is and how it impacts our daily lives.
And the last phrase of the verse, “For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God does not want us to feel like we are on our own. Jesus came to earth to free us from our sins that hold us captive. He gave himself as a sacrifice to save us and give us a new life in himself. How incredible! He wants us to come to him and ask him for what we need. We see throughout the Gospels; he tells the disciples and his followers to ask for things in his name, and that the Father in heaven was able and willing to provide for our needs. He modeled giving thanks for us; here is a great article that goes through the ways that Jesus gave thanks and how we can follow that model in our lives: https://busyblessedwomen.com/give-thanks-to-god/
This year, I am choosing to be thankful. Thankful for the big things, the small things, and everything in between. Even when life looks really hard, I can choose thankfulness. As we go into the Christmas season, remember what you are thankful for, and don’t let the busyness of the season take away from your joy or being thankful each and every day.
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