Gratitude
By Abby Sexton
Thanksgiving is almost upon us! I love this time of year - the holidays, the parties, the traditions, the decorations, the movies, the music. There’s something so warm and inviting in the air. It’s a time for family, friends, and a time to reflect on the fond memories of the year and the years before.
Scripture has a lot to say about gratitude. Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Many of the Psalms have to do with giving thanks to the Lord and offering him praise, while others have to do with sorrow and suffering.
Psalm 38, a psalm of suffering, says this, “O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes-it also has gone from me.” (v. 9-10)
Some of you may dread this time of the year. Maybe the holidays used to be a time of joy, but then loss came and now you want to skip the festivities. Perhaps the holidays are a reminder that you still don’t have the blessing you’ve been praying for.
Suffering and waiting are part of the Christian life. Recently a friend and I have been commiserating over not having what we’ve been praying for, for so long. It’s been a long road of waiting and heartache. Sometimes, you just wonder: Why? Why am I waiting, O Lord? What lesson am I not understanding? Why must more heartache come? How much longer will I feel this way?
Studies show that practicing gratitude can significantly improve mental health, especially in cases of anxiety and depression. This mental shift helps us to focus on the good in our lives rather than becoming fixated on the bad.
Yet, in the depths of our suffering, practicing gratitude can be incredibly difficult. It feels as though the pain will never end.
But we can be honest with God about every emotion we’re feeling. Our feelings fluctuate; they can change with the wind. God can handle hearing every emotion you have.
Like the psalmist, we can at times lament and express our great sorrow to God. He wants to hear what you’re going through. He’s not surprised or frustrated by it. You can be completely honest like King David in Psalm 38.
The same man who lamented in Psalm 38 also wrote Psalm 100 which is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. Like King David, we can praise the name of Jesus and proclaim his wonders, even while experiencing suffering.
I want to encourage you, friend, that we can hold the tension of suffering and misery with that of gratitude and hope. These emotions don’t have to cancel each other out. They can coexist. Life is full of both joy and sorrow. We may not always understand our circumstances. Many of God’s plans are a mystery that may not be revealed until we’re in heaven with Him. But we can take heart, knowing that Jesus knows our suffering and our lament.
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:3-5)
Jesus felt the same suffering you do. He experienced loneliness and rejection. But He also knew His greater hope was in God, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)
In Psalm 38, King David, even in the midst of his lament, says these words, “But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.” (v. 15)
May we go into this Thanksgiving holiday with the same spirit.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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