How to be Thankful in a Broken World
Zach Bartmer
I really love Thanksgiving, primarily because I get two enormous meals. But I do think that Thanksgiving tends to be treated as an afterthought. Once we get out of spooky season, it’s time to break out the Christmas decorations and blast some Mariah Carey! Even corporations tend to bypass Thanksgiving, aside from the Black Friday ads and the Macy’s Day Parade. Don't even get me started on that.
Everywhere we look, it seems as though we are told to continually move onto the next greatest thing: upgrade to the nicer car, get the bigger house, climb the corporate ladder. Nothing illustrates this more ironically than the fact that the USA has dedicated an entire WEEKEND to buying obscene amounts of material items immediately after the day that’s supposed to be about giving thanks for the things we do have. Anybody else see the absurdity?
We all have the tendency in our heart to want more than what we have. We are never satisfied. I do think practicing an attitude of contentment plays a part in having a heart of thankfulness, but true Biblical thankfulness is more than just being content. Thankfulness is a commitment, not a circumstance. But what exactly is thankfulness? You might say that it's the same thing as gratitude, being happy with what we have. But is that all God means when he commands us to be thankful? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” C.S. Lewis described a related phenomenon in his book, Mere Christianity, “If we are trying to do His will, we are obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shall love the Lord thy God.’ He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. Feelings are nice when they align with obedience, but the greatest commandment to love God and even to love others is not dependent on our feelings.” Similarly, thankfulness and gratitude are commanded, so they must not be dependent on feelings either. But how do we accomplish that in our everyday lives?
Psalm 92: 1-15 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to declare your faithful love in the morning and your faithfulness at night with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre. For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands.”
It is so easy for us to forget God’s promises and works. Take a second to think of times where you’ve really seen God show up in your life. Did he meet your immediate need? Did he give you strength to conquer that addiction? Did He speak through someone to really encourage you? Remembering who God is and what He has done for us is the first step to thankfulness.
Now with anything that takes practice, we have to be practicing correctly. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22 will help give us a better idea of what we can do to help foster thankfulness.
“...but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.”
We can use these verses as instructions to help our heart develop the habit of thankfulness. We can rejoice in all circumstances because of the new life that we have in Christ. And this joy is not a temporary happiness, it’s eternal. We can go to the Lord in prayer, knowing that He sees us and hears us. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts as we seek to be more and more like Christ everyday. Without these things, how can we ever hope to lead lives of gratitude?
The primary way that we learn about who God is and how to lead lives that honor Him is by reading his Word. But reading the Bible is so much more than just obtaining the knowledge of how to please God. Through the Holy Spirit, the Bible was written, the same Holy Spirit that resides in us as believers. Have you ever read the Bible, and the words just seem to hold so much weight, they resonate with your soul in a way that feels supernatural? That is the Holy Spirit at work within you!
The work of the Spirit will lead us to Godly character in everything. We are unable to rejoice rightly, pray as we ought, stay away from evil, love others, or have proper gratitude without His help. But thank the Lord that he does help us, even in our weakness. Philippians 2:13 says this, “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”
Back to thanksgiving. Notice that we are told to give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. That’s an important distinction, we’re not called to be thankful FOR every circumstance in our lives, that would be absurd. You might find yourself in the midst of the deepest sorrow right now. Let me be clear, God is not commanding you to be thankful that you just lost your job, or for the brokenness in your family, or for sickness, death, or depression. But He is asking us to be thankful even in those hard times. But how do we do that?
Even in our sorrow, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus himself knows what it’s like to feel pain. He was betrayed, misunderstood, ridiculed, lost loved ones, wept, and experienced such anxiety about the Cross that He began to sweat blood. We can hope and pray that God takes us out of our situation, but also have the understanding that Jesus himself even prayed in regard to His death on the cross: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 6:39)
We all know God said no to this prayer, yet it was the best thing for His people, for all of eternity. You can be assured of this: even if God does not take you out of your situation, He is with you always. He loves you, He sympathizes with you, and He will never leave or forsake you. It is because of that knowledge that we can still give thanks in every season, because He is forever with us. Nothing can take us out of His hand.
This is the heart that Paul has in Philippians 4:13. It’s quite a popular verse and also one that tends to be taken wildly out of context. The verse says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This verse is commonly utilized to hype people up for their sports game or job interview, but Paul is actually talking about contentment here. Paul is writing those words while in prison. He’s living in a time where there is heavy Christian persecution, and he has suffered greatly in order to spread the Gospel. He was shipwrecked, whipped, mobbed, people even attempted to stone him to death. He lost friends, and endured betrayal and suffering. Despite all that, he talks confidently about being content when “brought low, or abounding, having plenty or going hungry, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:12) He is content because he is in fellowship with the Lord. Paul’s identity was found solely in Christ, and no amount of hardship could take that from him.
Even in our lowest moments, we can be thankful because we know we have a God who is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. A God who loves us even if all we see is darkness. So if you feel so overwhelmed by sorrow, I challenge you to go to God with your sorrow, He can take it. And even in our darkest seasons of life, we can rejoice in knowing that we have a perfect, loving, steadfast Father. And there lies every reason to give thanks.
Everywhere we look, it seems as though we are told to continually move onto the next greatest thing: upgrade to the nicer car, get the bigger house, climb the corporate ladder. Nothing illustrates this more ironically than the fact that the USA has dedicated an entire WEEKEND to buying obscene amounts of material items immediately after the day that’s supposed to be about giving thanks for the things we do have. Anybody else see the absurdity?
We all have the tendency in our heart to want more than what we have. We are never satisfied. I do think practicing an attitude of contentment plays a part in having a heart of thankfulness, but true Biblical thankfulness is more than just being content. Thankfulness is a commitment, not a circumstance. But what exactly is thankfulness? You might say that it's the same thing as gratitude, being happy with what we have. But is that all God means when he commands us to be thankful? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” C.S. Lewis described a related phenomenon in his book, Mere Christianity, “If we are trying to do His will, we are obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shall love the Lord thy God.’ He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. Feelings are nice when they align with obedience, but the greatest commandment to love God and even to love others is not dependent on our feelings.” Similarly, thankfulness and gratitude are commanded, so they must not be dependent on feelings either. But how do we accomplish that in our everyday lives?
Psalm 92: 1-15 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to declare your faithful love in the morning and your faithfulness at night with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre. For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands.”
It is so easy for us to forget God’s promises and works. Take a second to think of times where you’ve really seen God show up in your life. Did he meet your immediate need? Did he give you strength to conquer that addiction? Did He speak through someone to really encourage you? Remembering who God is and what He has done for us is the first step to thankfulness.
Now with anything that takes practice, we have to be practicing correctly. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22 will help give us a better idea of what we can do to help foster thankfulness.
“...but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.”
We can use these verses as instructions to help our heart develop the habit of thankfulness. We can rejoice in all circumstances because of the new life that we have in Christ. And this joy is not a temporary happiness, it’s eternal. We can go to the Lord in prayer, knowing that He sees us and hears us. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts as we seek to be more and more like Christ everyday. Without these things, how can we ever hope to lead lives of gratitude?
The primary way that we learn about who God is and how to lead lives that honor Him is by reading his Word. But reading the Bible is so much more than just obtaining the knowledge of how to please God. Through the Holy Spirit, the Bible was written, the same Holy Spirit that resides in us as believers. Have you ever read the Bible, and the words just seem to hold so much weight, they resonate with your soul in a way that feels supernatural? That is the Holy Spirit at work within you!
The work of the Spirit will lead us to Godly character in everything. We are unable to rejoice rightly, pray as we ought, stay away from evil, love others, or have proper gratitude without His help. But thank the Lord that he does help us, even in our weakness. Philippians 2:13 says this, “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”
Back to thanksgiving. Notice that we are told to give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. That’s an important distinction, we’re not called to be thankful FOR every circumstance in our lives, that would be absurd. You might find yourself in the midst of the deepest sorrow right now. Let me be clear, God is not commanding you to be thankful that you just lost your job, or for the brokenness in your family, or for sickness, death, or depression. But He is asking us to be thankful even in those hard times. But how do we do that?
Even in our sorrow, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus himself knows what it’s like to feel pain. He was betrayed, misunderstood, ridiculed, lost loved ones, wept, and experienced such anxiety about the Cross that He began to sweat blood. We can hope and pray that God takes us out of our situation, but also have the understanding that Jesus himself even prayed in regard to His death on the cross: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 6:39)
We all know God said no to this prayer, yet it was the best thing for His people, for all of eternity. You can be assured of this: even if God does not take you out of your situation, He is with you always. He loves you, He sympathizes with you, and He will never leave or forsake you. It is because of that knowledge that we can still give thanks in every season, because He is forever with us. Nothing can take us out of His hand.
This is the heart that Paul has in Philippians 4:13. It’s quite a popular verse and also one that tends to be taken wildly out of context. The verse says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This verse is commonly utilized to hype people up for their sports game or job interview, but Paul is actually talking about contentment here. Paul is writing those words while in prison. He’s living in a time where there is heavy Christian persecution, and he has suffered greatly in order to spread the Gospel. He was shipwrecked, whipped, mobbed, people even attempted to stone him to death. He lost friends, and endured betrayal and suffering. Despite all that, he talks confidently about being content when “brought low, or abounding, having plenty or going hungry, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:12) He is content because he is in fellowship with the Lord. Paul’s identity was found solely in Christ, and no amount of hardship could take that from him.
Even in our lowest moments, we can be thankful because we know we have a God who is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. A God who loves us even if all we see is darkness. So if you feel so overwhelmed by sorrow, I challenge you to go to God with your sorrow, He can take it. And even in our darkest seasons of life, we can rejoice in knowing that we have a perfect, loving, steadfast Father. And there lies every reason to give thanks.