In a few hours Ana and I will be hitting the road, joining millions of other travelers heading out to be with loved ones and friends for Thanksgiving. Usually our kids come to us during the holidays, but this time we’re going to them. It’s a long drive, but it will be worth it just to be with them for a while.
Thanksgiving is such a special time. It’s a time to be with friends and family, to eat good food (usually too much of it), play games, and, of course, watch some football. Most importantly it’s a time for giving thanks for all the blessings God has poured out on us through the last year.
We’ll thank God for family and friends, for our jobs, for our homes. We’ll thank Him for good health and His protection on the roads. We’ll praise Him for our successes, for that promotion at work, or for that new car in the drive.
All these things are great and it’s easy to be thankful for them, but I wonder, is it enough? What about the other things, the shattered dreams, the setbacks, the things we don’t even like to think about? Is it even possible to be thankful when we lose our jobs, our health deteriorates, or when we lose someone we love?
It seems crazy, but this is exactly what God wants us to do. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
All circumstances? Isn’t that asking a little much? How can I possibly give thanks when life turns sour, when hopes and dreams are dashed, when illness strikes, when a loved one dies? Isn’t God being kind of unreasonable here?
Not if we believe the promise in Romans 8:28, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
When we are God’s children, He turns everything in our world upside down. Even the bad things work out for our good. Setbacks become successes. Loss becomes gain. Even death loses its power, because someday soon, God “will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8).
You see, we serve a God who loves us with “an everlasting love”. (Jeremiah 31:3). He loves us so much “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). And this same God, “who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
This Thanksgiving, I challenge you to give “thanks to God the Father for everything.” (Ephesians 5:20). That includes the good and the bad, because our God will turn even the bad things into something good, if we will only trust Him today and all through the coming year. Put Him to the test and “give thanks in all circumstances”. You’re going to be amazed at what He does!
Happy Thanksgiving!