Joy, Prayer and Thanksgiving When You Don't Feel Like Any of It — Broken & Hopeful

I was being a whiny baby yesterday. Do you ever have those days where you feel like you just complain and moan about everything, and you don’t even want to be around yourself? That was my attitude. It was unpleasant to say the least.

In the middle of my funk, I remembered something I’ve heard many times—there is always, always, always something to be thankful for. That thought did not help my mood, as I wanted to throw a complete tantrum stating there wasn’t anything to be thankful for in this day.

But God.

In His quiet, shepherding way, Jesus reminded me of a verse in 1 Thessalonians, one which I’ve used to beat myself up in the past in an attempt to bust out of the whining and complaining. But this time I heard it differently.

Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I had always imagined this to be passage about feelings we were supposed to be drumming up, and it just frustrated me. I didn’t want to feel joyous, or feel like praying all the time, or feel thankful in the middle of any circumstance. That just felt impossible. And really, it is.

But here’s what God was teaching me through my adult tantrum. When joy, prayer and thanksgiving become my focus, rather than all the things I’m upset about or afraid of, my whole perspective shifts. It’s not that my circumstances change, but when my focus does, I can find Christ’s life within me expressing in ways that I couldn’t muster up in my own strength.

So, in my own strength and power, I can’t find joy. I can’t pray all the time. I can’t give thanks. But Jesus can! And He will through me. This is where the impossible is made tangible.

When I ask Him, I will feast on joy. I will seek it out like a snack when I’m hungry. I will have access to joy because He brings it. Joy is deeper than happiness. It wells up in my spirit as I focus on Jesus in the middle of my problems, and I can start to see joy springing up all around in small ways. I witness the birds singing after the storm, the shoots of green plant showing through the snow, the bits of light cutting through dark clouds on a gloomy day. My kids laughing (probably at a silly fart joke, but it’s still hilarious), the dog snuggling at my feet, my jalapeno seeds FINALLY popping through the black dirt after weeks of waiting. All of this brings contagious joy to me. But I miss it when I’m focused on the wrong thing. When I ask, Jesus reminds me over and over again of all the joy around me.

When I ask Him, my life becomes a prayer. I focus on Him and instead of taking on all the burdens or worries of the day myself, I am funneling them to Him to take on as only He can. I entrust every piece of my life and that of those I love to the One who knows them so much better than I do, and loves even more than I could. When I see how much He loves me talking with Him, and how I’m never a bother, I want to go even more to the place within where I have a running dialogue with my Father, my Dad who cares about all of it. Why go to worry when I can go to Him?

When I ask Him, I can give Him thanks, because He empowers me to see past my current problem to all that He is doing on my behalf right now in the middle of the mess. I can be thankful for Him always, for He bestowed worth on me and loves me through thick and thin. He will never abandon or reject me, and He doesn’t measure my worth by my performance. I can give thanks because of what He is giving me now, even if it’s not what I ultimately want. I can give thanks because of the ways He is fulfilling His promises to me, even if it’s not in the way I would have planned or requested. When I focus on Jesus’ Life within, there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

I don’t want to let anything steal my joy, my prayer, or my thanks. In Christ, I have joy, I have constant access to talk to God, and I have reason to be thankful. He empowers me to be in this place because He is steadfast and faithful. I simply need to ask, and refocus on what He brings.