What am I thankful for?

It’s common to hear this question during this time of the year. Recently I took time to consider it for myself as I have many things to be thankful for. As I was thinking about this I opened up to to a couple of interesting passages, which made me have a greater appriciation for the things I can say I am thankful for.

The first one was about Jeremiah, a prophet from Judah. God told Jeremiah to tell his very own family and friends that they needed to repent, turn from sinful choices they were making, and start obeying God. Not surprisingly, no one liked what he had to say and it went as far as him being lauged at and made fun of by those he loved. I can imagine this was an awful time for Jeremiah. However, we can see through the scripture that he remained hopeful. To others it may have seemed impossible, but Jeremiah was able to maintain hope because of God’s faithfulness. Throughout Lamentations we continue to see the evidence of God’s faithful, loving, and merciful character. It was through this that Jeremiah was able to remain thankful, even through hard times.  It takes a lot to be thankful and hopeful when our life situations may not seem ideal.

Paul’s story is another example of  someone who had to go through multiple hardships in his life. He was beaten up, shipwrecked and even put in prison. Yet, as we see throughout scripture, he still remained thankful throughout. Sometimes it seems too hard, almost impossible, to have hope and even be thankful in times like that.

In this season when focused on our thankfulness let’s try our best to be thankful regardless of our current circumstances. Let’s rely on who God is- his amazing character- when we consider our thanks. 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18