It’s easy to be thankful for the blessings that are apparent in our lives. For our families and friends; for our jobs and the ways God provides financially for us; for open doors and opportunities like getting involved in a cool ministry, being on a “spiritual high”, and exciting journeys to the other side of the world. God likes it when we thank Him for these things.
But have you ever thanked Him for hard goodbyes? What about for the money you don’t have in your bank account? How about a stolen laptop, those feelings of loneliness you struggle with, a family member’s cancer?
You may think it is crazy to be thankful for these things. But the truth is God deserves glory in every situation and every circumstance no matter how terrible, unfair, traumatic, or incomprehensible it is. He deserves the glory because of who He is, not what He does for us or what He allows to happen to us.
Consider Job. In the midst of the worst scenario possible from his perspective, He continued to praise God. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and because of this simple truth we should thank Him. Thank Him for the things you are not thankful for. When you begin to tell Him, “thank you” for all of the hard things, that’s when you will learn more about God’s character. He is Good, no matter what, and just as He has loved us unconditionally through His Son Jesus, we should strive to love and thank Him no matter what conditions we are in.
