How Can Christians Be Thankful During Difficult Times?

With everything going on in our lives, dedicating a day to gratitude can seem insincere, to say the least. For people of faith who have more reason to hope and rejoice than non-believers, we may feel bad about admitting that we are struggling with thankfulness.

Gratitude is a practice; expressing thanks is an action. The good news about Thanksgiving is that we can give thanks no matter how we are feeling on the inside. Perhaps the even better news is that making ourselves give thanks can actually change the way we feel. 

As you celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, I encourage you to utilize God’s Word for encouragement as we pull up our bootstraps and determine to give thanks despite everything. Here are a few of my favorite verses that help me put things in perspective: 

Psalm 95:1-3

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving
and extol Him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

Psalm 118:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.

These are merely a few of the many Scriptural reminders we have of God’s goodness. I think it’s important to note that the writers of these verses had their fair share of trials, and they went through more than some of us could even imagine. And yet, they knew how important it was not only for their relationship with God but also for their well-being to give thanks through every circumstance. 

I pray that, no matter what your Thanksgiving looks like or what you have been through this year, you find time to give thanks to God for the blessings in your life. 

TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE WEEKLY PODCAST OR WEEKLY BLOG, GO TO WWW.LARRYODONNELL.COM. OR CLICK HERE