Gratitude When It's Hard to Praise God

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 (NIV)

When I was first diagnosed with numerous physical and mental health conditions, I didn’t know what to think. I’d graduated college and gone from a normal functioning young adult to a chronically sick one. Gratitude certainly wasn’t at the top of my list. Fear, annoyance, despair, and anxiety tortured my soul. In addition to excruciating pain, bitterness took root in my heart. 

I asked God “Why me?” a dozen times a day. I believed the lie that I was being punished for my past sins and I’d never get better. Key emphasis on the word never. Have you ever felt that way?

For the first few years into these struggles, I wrestled with gratitude. I would read verses like Thessalonians 5:18 and roll my eyes. When I saw my father’s equally crumbling health, the discouragement piled on. 

“I gave up believing God would heal me years ago,” he told me often. Now suffering myself, I couldn’t get his words out of my head. I didn’t realize I also started to believe them. Until the day I understood this:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 doesn’t say to give thanks for all circumstances; it says to give thanks in all circumstances. This brings freedom in praise. At all times, God is good and worthy of praise. Because by definition, God is good (Psalm 107:1). God is light (1 John 1:5-7). God is love (1 John 4:8). God is everything we need (2 Peter 1:3). The circumstances we experience, however, aren’t always good. Why? We live in a fallen and broken world (Romans 8:22). This place isn’t our home. We’re temporary visitors, passing through on our way to eternity (1 Chronicles 29:15; 1 Peter 2:11). This brings great hope. 

Friends, I want to acknowledge that you will go through things in this life that aren’t good. Pain, heartbreak, sorrow, and tears are part of life on Earth. But amid them, I encourage you to dig deep and look beyond. Learn to view painful experiences through the filter of “for the good.”

There's nothing good about pain, tragedy, trauma, or abuse. What is good, is how our God can take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good (Genesis 50:20). 

Romans 8:28 has been my life verse since childhood. Only Jesus Christ can take the atrocities I've lived through and turn them for good. At the time of pain, we're often unable to comprehend this. Physical and mental anguish blur our vision. Knowing that God can use what I've experienced to help others, however, reaffirms me of my purpose here on earth. I hope it reaffirms you. 

Question for Reflection:

Sweet sister in Christ, the pain and tragedy you’ve felt is real. It isn't good. The fact that God can use everything, even painful experiences for our good and His glory, is. Learning to understand the trauma and pain we experience through the filter of "for the good," isn't easy. Mental and physical challenges are real. As someone who's experienced and continues to experience both, I can attest it stinks. The beauty of looking back over my life and seeing how God used everything for my good, however, changes my perspective. It gives me an eternal view. Comfort. Strength to keep running this race. Knowing I can bring Him glory. Let this be your prayer today.