{"id":2320,"date":"2011-11-22T01:21:36","date_gmt":"2011-11-22T07:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:35:51","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:35:51","slug":"how-can-i-be-thankful-when-expressing-gratitude-when-times-are-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/11\/22\/how-can-i-be-thankful-when-expressing-gratitude-when-times-are-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Be Thankful When . . . ? Expressing Gratitude When Times are Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Part 8 of series:
\n<\/a>Thanksgiving: Not Just a Day, But a Season<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

How Can I Be Thankful When . . . ?<\/h2>\n

The Bible instructs us to be consistently thankful. In writing to the Thessalonian Christians, the Apostle Paul said, \u201cGive thanks in all circumstances<\/em>; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you\u201d (1 Thes 5:18). This sounds nice enough, until you find yourself in difficult, even painful circumstances. Then, inspired biblical truth can feel like an insensitive platitude.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I be thankful when . . . ?\u201d Various scenarios complete the sentence. \u201cHow can I be thankful when this is the first Thanksgiving since my mother died? How can I be thankful when when my family is in such disarray? How can I be thankful when I\u2019m in the middle of chemotherapy? How can I be thankful when I\u2019m not even sure if I\u2019ll have food for dinner tonight?\u201d Throughout my years as a pastor, I\u2019ve often heard this sort of question, especially as Thanksgiving Day draws near. People would really like to feel grateful, but their life circumstances seem to make genuine gratitude impossible. They feel stuck in discouragement and despair.<\/p>\n

If we take the Psalms as a model for prayer, then we should certainly feel free, even obligated, to share with the Lord our frustrations and disappointments. Genuine prayer is not putting a happy face on our true feelings. If you\u2019re grieving the loss of a loved one, or feeling afraid because you\u2019re facing a serious illness, you should surely share these feelings with God in prayer. Being thankful in all circumstances does not mean pretending or denying.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad and me. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it does mean that we must look beyond our particular circumstances. Gratitude comes when we look at the bigger picture, when we remember the multitude of ways in which we are blessed, even if we\u2019re also feeling sadness or fear or whatever else seems inconsistent with being thankful. For example, this will be my twenty-fifth Thanksgiving without my father, who died of cancer in 1986. Every year on this holiday I think about my dad. I miss him. I wish we could watch football together. I wish he were there to carve the turkey. Mostly, I just wish I could be with him. So, ironically, on Thanksgiving Day I feel more sadness than usual over the loss of my father.<\/p>\n

And yet, I also feel thankful for him. Although I wish I could have had more time with my dad, I treasure the time I did have. I thank God for the hours my dad and I spent playing Candy Land and Star Reporter, and for his subtle sense of humor, and for his solid example of Christian faithfulness, and for his support when I desperately needed it. At the very lowest point of my life, my dad was there for me with grace and strength. I am able to offer genuine thanks for my father, without denying the sadness I feel over his early death.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d you may object, \u201cyou lost your father a long time ago. You still feel pain, but the wound isn\u2019t fresh. What about people who are in the midst of suffering right now? Can they be truly grateful?\u201d My answer is \u201cYes.\u201d How do I know this? Because I\u2019ve seen it time and again in my ministry. I\u2019ve watched people in the midst of a crisis nevertheless be able to express authentic thanks to God.<\/p>\n

But what about if someone is suffering greatly? What about times of famine or plague? Can one be thankful in such a predicament?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Martin Rinkart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I think of gratitude in the face of suffering, I think of Martin Rinkart. He was a pastor in the city of Eilenburg, Germany during the first decades of the seventeenth century. If you remember your European history, this was during the so-called Thirty Years\u2019 War. Eilenburg, as a walled city, was often overcrowded with refugees. This often led to famine and disease. Conditions were so horrible in Eilenburg that thousands of people died, and, for a season, Rinkart was the only minister in town. During this period of time he performed up to fifty funerals in a single day. Over his lifetime he officiated at over 4,000 funerals. We can only imagine the horrific suffering Rinkart experienced.<\/p>\n

In the midst of this ordeal, he wrote several hymns. One caught on among German speaking people and, in translation, among English speaking people as well. What was this popular hymn? In the original language it begins: \u201cNun danket alle Gott, mit Herzen, Mund und H\u00e4nden.\u201d In English translation the hymn is a Thanksgiving favorite:<\/p>\n

Now thank we all our God
\nWith heart and hands and voices,
\nWho wondrous things hath done,
\nIn whom this world rejoices;
\nWho, from our mothers\u2019 arms,
\nHath blessed us on our way
\nWith countless gifts of love,
\nAnd still is ours today.<\/p>\n

O may this bounteous God
\nThrough all our life be near us,
\nWith ever joyful hearts
\nAnd blessed peace to cheer us;
\nAnd keep us in God\u2019s grace,
\nAnd guide us when perplexed,
\nAnd free us from all ills
\nIn this world and the next.<\/p>\n

All praise and thanks to God,
\nWho reigns in highest heaven,
\nTo Father and to Son
\nAnd Spirit now be given.
\nThe one eternal God,
\nWhom heaven and earth adore,
\nThe God who was, and is,
\nAnd shall be evermore.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always liked this hymn. But I had probably sung it fifty times before I learned about its background. Now it means so much more to me. Martin Rinkart was calling for thanksgiving, not in a season of plenty, but in the midst of want. He was reminding us to look above our pain and to remember God\u2019s \u201cwondrous things\u201d and \u201ccountless gifts of love.\u201d The hymn acknowledges that we will sometimes be \u201cperplexed\u201d and suffer \u201call ills.\u201d But by lifting our eyes above these immediate circumstances, we are able to give thanks to God. The last verse looks, not to the good things God has done for us, but to the very nature of our good God, who deserves \u201call praise and thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ability to look beyond our immediate circumstances is itself a gift of God\u2019s grace. If you\u2019re struggling to be grateful, ask the Lord to give you a fresher and truer perspective on your life. Allow yourself enough time to remember and reflect upon God\u2019s gifts. Most of all, think about who God is. Meditate upon his mercy and love. The more you do, the more you\u2019ll find true gratitude flowing from your heart.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 8 of series: Thanksgiving: Not Just a Day, But a Season How Can I Be Thankful When . . . ? The Bible instructs us to be consistently thankful. In writing to the Thessalonian Christians, the Apostle Paul said, \u201cGive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16607],"tags":[16642,16641,21655],"class_list":["post-2320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thanksgiving","tag-martin-rinkart","tag-suffering","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Can I Be Thankful When . . . ? Expressing Gratitude When Times are Hard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: Thanksgiving: Not Just a Day, But a Season How Can I Be Thankful When . . . ? The Bible instructs us to be consistently thankful. 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