Gratitude During Hard Times: Giving Thanks Even When Life is Tough
Want to know the will of God for your life? The Bible is very clear. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
We love to shout this verse from the mountaintops when we get a raise, an unexpected windfall comes our way, our best friend comes to visit. “Yes! Thanks, God! I’m so blessed! Look at all the great things happening around me. I must be in the perfect will of God.” And then we smile.
If that’s true, then what about the opposite? When we are downsized out of a job, our car breaks down, a friend betrays us. What did we do to leave the perfect will of God? Is there sin in my life that caused me to fall out of His plan? How can I fix it?
But the truth is, problems come to make us sharper, not necessarily because of sin or as a way to defeat us. In fact, even in the hardest of days, we are told to give praise. The quicker we realize this, the easier those hard days will be to overcome.
Thankfulness: A Common Biblical Theme
In the King James Bible:
The word "thanks" or "thanksgiving” are used 72 times.
The concept of thanks is mentioned 102 times in the Old Testament.
The word "gratitude" is mentioned 157 times.
That means if we were to read one of these verses about thanksgiving every day, we would have 331 days of verses to read. That’s a lot of thankfulness!
Biblical Heroes Who Had Gratitude During Hard Times
When we read the stories behind the gratitude and thanksgiving in these verses, it is inevitable that we will find someone who has experienced the same struggles.
Job
Ask Job how he felt when he lost his livelihood and his family. Job 1:20 says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Paul
The adventures of the Apostle Paul are full of loss. In Acts 28, we see that he had been shipwrecked and washed ashore in Malta. Without complaining, without questioning the will of God for his life, Paul made a fire and went on. Because he was there and had a grateful and worshipful attitude, God performed miracles through Him by healing many people on the island. Because Paul lived a life of worship, he considered every twist in his life path to be part of God’s purpose.
David
David experienced a host of troubles in his life, but he also gave us many examples of praise in the Psalms. Psalm 55 is a chapter rife with the pain of betrayal, and it tells how deeply hurt David was because of his friend. Throughout the chapter, David told how he was calling out to God for mercy and kindness to heal his heart. He closed with, “But I will trust in You.” Regardless of the hurt, David leaned into the Lord to help him.
Applying Gratitude During Our Own Hard Times
The examples of Job, Paul and David are clear. These are men who were honorable, blessed, and leaders of their generation. They each intentionally lived to serve God. Yet, they had really hard times. We can learn from their examples.
Philippians chapter 4 gives us even more instruction on our attitude during hard times:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. ”
Meditate on These Things
Here is the key: Speak these things out loud. Read the Word of God out loud to change your thought process. Suddenly you see that your work belongs to God and His peace is always enough! You will know He is using your pit stop for His purpose. No matter what happens, He will never leave you. His friendship is perfect.
The Bottom Line
So, how do we have gratitude during hard times? We need to shift our focus up to Him. We must always look for the gifts He has given us today. Then we will find ourselves thankful in everything!