It’s hard to believe that there are only two months left in 2023. Last year at this time I published a post titled, “A Month of Gratitude,” since November is the month we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday (this year Thanksgiving falls on November 23rd). In actuality, being thankful should extend throughout every month of the year, but life has a way of getting in the way, and I’ll be the first to admit it’s not easy to be thankful for some of the stuff life throws at us.
It’s easy to wallow in the bad stuff that happens to us, and we don’t realize how much all of that wallowing is depleting us on so many levels especially from a spiritual perspective but also physically, too. I made that discovery two days ago when I read a short devotion titled, “Gifts of Love,” in The Upper Room bimonthly devotional booklet for September/October 2023 before I got out of bed that morning.
The scripture reading for that devotion is found in 1 John 5:1-5, so I opened my Bible (NIV) and I turned to 1 John 5, and I read the entire chapter. As I read the chapter, I could feel a sense of profound encouragement coursing through my veins, and it changed my entire perspective as I started a brand new day.
As Christians, how often do we find ourselves fighting our own battles, whether big or small? No wonder we get irritable which not only affects our mood and attitude, but it also depletes our physical energy. We tend to bear the burden ourselves and try working our way through it instead of giving it to our Burden Bearer for help (and leaving it with Him) that goes way beyond anything we can do or accomplish on our own. And who is our Burden Bearer? Take a couple of minutes to read 1 John 5 (NIV):
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
Pay attention to these words in verses 4-5:
…for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
When I read these verses two days ago, I didn’t realize how much I was trying to take on in my own power that is not mine to take on. Yes, I’m the one going through it, but it is God who is in the details. I just mess it up the more I try to understand or struggle with it on my own, but God sees all of the details I don’t see or understand. And this is the same for anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (verse 5). It is ultimately God’s battle, and we have to trust in God to guide us through it without interference from us. We need to let go and yield to God and not try to twist things in our favor.
Letting go and yielding to God is the only way through it. As verse 20 states, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
This leads into the next step which is being thankful. As Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
In a blog post published on Dec. 4, 2019, titled, “Thankful in All Circumstances: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,” by Becca Wierwille, she writes:
… Always, continually, and in all circumstances. Those are three terms that don’t give us a whole lot of wiggle room.
Paul didn’t write, “Rejoice until things get tough.” He didn’t say, “Pray unless you’re too tired.” And he didn’t preach, “Give thanks for the good stuff in life.”
No, God’s will for us in Christ Jesus is thankfulness that knows no end, regardless of the circumstances.
This passage ties in well with a verse from… Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Paul wrote the same idea into the book of Philippians, that every situation, even the most anxiety-inducing moments, should be met with a response of thanksgiving.
But the big question, for me at least, is how? Honestly, I have a hard enough time remembering to give thanks in the good circumstances. How in the world am I supposed to try to give thanks in the bad ones?
Perhaps it comes down to this: making it a habit to exude thankfulness from one breath to the next.
What I mean is, what if we made thankfulness a habit that came as naturally as breathing? What if we trained our brains to echo thankful sentiments on a regular basis, regardless of what’s going on around us?
That thankfulness might not spread to our hearts right away. We might not always feel like breathing thankfulness. But think about other habits in your life. Do you always feel like brushing your teeth before you go to school or work in the morning? Probably not. But do you always do it? Hopefully…. (Quote source and complete article at this link.)
In answer to the question, “What does the Bible have to say about thankfulness/gratitude?” GotQuestions.org provides the following information:
Thankfulness is a prominent Bible theme. First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch that? Give thanks in all circumstances. Thankfulness should be a way of life for us, naturally flowing from our hearts and mouths.
Digging into the Scriptures a little more deeply, we understand why we should be thankful and also how to have gratitude in different circumstances.
Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” Here we have two reasons to be thankful: God’s constant goodness and His steadfast love. When we recognize the nature of our depravity and understand that, apart from God, there is only death (John 10:10; Romans 7:5), our natural response is to be grateful for the life He gives.
Psalm 30 gives praise to God for His deliverance. David writes, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. . . . You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:1-12). Here David gives thanks to God following an obviously difficult circumstance. This psalm of thanksgiving not only praises God in the moment but remembers God’s past faithfulness. It is a statement of God’s character, which is so wonderful that praise is the only appropriate response.
We also have examples of being thankful in the midst of hard circumstances. Psalm 28, for example, depicts David’s distress. It is a cry to God for mercy, protection, and justice. After David cries out to God, he writes, “Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song” (Psalm 28:6-7). In the midst of hardship, David remembers who God is and, as a result of knowing and trusting God, gives thanks. Job had a similar attitude of praise, even in the face of death: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).
There are examples of believers’ thankfulness in the New Testament as well. Paul was heavily persecuted, yet he wrote, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him” (2 Corinthians 2:14). The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). Peter gives a reason to be thankful for “grief and all kinds of trials,” saying that, through the hardships, our faith “may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
The people of God are thankful people, for they realize how much they have been given. One of the characteristics of the last days is a lack of thanksgiving, according to 2 Timothy 3:2. Wicked people will be “ungrateful.”
We should be thankful because God is worthy of our thanksgiving. It is only right to credit Him for “every good and perfect gift” He gives (James 1:17). When we are thankful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain of current circumstances. Expressing thankfulness helps us remember that God is in control. Thankfulness, then, is not only appropriate; it is actually healthy and beneficial to us. It reminds us of the bigger picture, that we belong to God, and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Truly, we have an abundant life (John 10:10), and gratefulness is fitting. (Quote source here.)
I’ll end this post with the words from Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…
For this is God’s will . . .
For you . . .
In Christ Jesus . . . .
YouTube Video: “Stand in Faith” by Danny Gokey:
Sara's Musings 
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