Being Thankful In Hard Times?

It’s Thanksgiving. You might ask, “What’s there to be thankful for when life is crashing down around us?” We’re in the middle of a pandemic that has killed 100’s of thousands of people in our country alone. Thousands upon thousands have been sick. We’re wearing masks, our normal way of life has been taken away from everyone — people are losing their jobs, businesses are going under -  people are scared they could get the virus and die, many have died — many have lost loved ones to the pandemic. There’s confusion, uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and fear. 

In the past, Thanksgiving was the joyous holiday of a day off of work, parades, football, family gatherings, and turkey dinners. Not this year. How can we have a traditional Thanksgiving this year? Because of the virus, family gatherings are limited, attending football games is restricted, the Macy’s traditional street parade is cancelled and turned into a television stay-at-home event. 

Can we really celebrate Thanksgiving in the middle of a crisis? Maybe Thanksgiving is actually coming at the perfect time!! A time to refocus — to think about what’s really important. 

The pilgrims knew what was really important. They had a thanksgiving feast with the purpose of thanking God for the harvest. The dictionary definition of THANKSGIVING, according to Merriam-Webster, is this…….a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness, the act of giving thanks, a prayer expressing gratitude. YOU SEE, Thanksgiving is supposed to be spiritually focused — our Thanksgiving should be a day of thanking God.

So the question is — how can we be thankful (express thanksgiving) in hard times? — in midst of crisis? Hardship? Even in times of tragedy? How can we be thankful when we’re going through bad times? What should we thank God for????

Well, we can be thankful for the ONE THING that’s really important in any and every situation of life…..we can be thankful for His LOVE. LOVE is what sustains us, what motivates us, what matters the most — regardless of our circumstance. This Thanksgiving, I say let’s focus our thanksgiving on LOVE. Especially for His love for us. Whether we’re going through good times or bad, we can still be thankful for LOVE — the love of God for us, the love of Family, the love of Friends. Isn’t that’s what really is important?

God is the designer, originator, and ultimate example and demonstrator of LOVE. He loved us before we even knew it. He made the first move sending His Son to die for our sins, while we were still sinners!

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)

This unconditional, underserving love by God for us sinners is called can be looked upon as Grace. Grace is God’s good favor on those who have no reason to receive it. Thank God that we live in the covenant of Grace. Thank God for His Love. Love is what motivated GOD to send His Son. It’s the WHY — what made Him do it.

“For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only Son, the whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus into the world to save us. God’s love is unconditional and underserved.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. (1 John 4:9)

God’s love is so powerful and faithful, that nothing can ever separate us from it!

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

“What’s there to be thankful for when life is crashing down around us?” God’s Love for us. The Good News is that we are in a perfect, loving Father-Child relationship with God. We are made right with God because, as baptized believers, we know that Jesus willingly died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, we are adopted as children of God, with the promise of eternal life with Him. It’s all because of His LOVE for us. And when we understand His love, we love Him back.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Yes, this Thanksgiving, let’s be thankful for what’s really important….Love — the love of God, the love of family, and the love of friends. There’s nothing like being the recipient of love — knowing that someone loves you. One thing for certain -   God loves you. And that’s something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

LOVE……….

It’s the strongest force on earth/goes beyond the universe/it's heaven's eternal theme/it's God's main quality.

It can melt the hardened heart/it can tear you all apart/it's the most important thing/it's the greatest offering.

It transcends all time and space/every culture every race/regardless of the miles/it's still there all the while. 

It's what motivated God/to send His only Son/unconditionally given/so believers can be forgiven.

It's the reason we want to obey/to please God in every way /it's the greatest of all commands/love God then your fellow man     

And nothing can separate us/from the love of Christ within us/nothing can take love away/forever it will remain

Love Love Love

Those were the lyrics to a song I wrote as I was contemplating what love is. I put it into a song called, “The Strongest Force On Earth”. There’s nothing stronger than love. Love can motivate people to do anything. Love is powerful. A parent would die in place of their child if put in a threatening situation. In a sense, Jesus did just that — He gave His life to save us.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)

Here’s an idea for a way to offer thanksgiving to God. When you wake up, sit up on the edge of your bed. And start the day saying a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His Love. Don’t ask FOR anything from Him in your prayer. Just say a prayer of thanksgiving TO HIM. Something like this....

“Thank you Father for your love for me. Your unconditional, underserved love that has been shown through Christ who died for me. Thank you for always loving me no matter what — for being the perfect, loving, caring Father who is always for me and always with me. Thank you for LOVE ITSELF - the love of Family, the love of Friends. And most of all, thank you for loving me.”

You say that prayer and I think your day will turn out just fine.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. (Ephesians 3:18)