On Being Thankful

I've been thinking a lot lately about being thankful. There are a couple Scriptures that keep coming to mind:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It's easy to give thanks when things are going well, and it's easy to give thanks for the good things. What I've been thinking about and praying about is the other stuff: about giving thanks in the bad times and for the bad stuff.

It's not that I like the bad times or the bad stuff, but if I trust God's sovereignty, and if I believe Scripture, then I have to believe that there's a purpose for all of it (even when I can't see it). Romans 8 says that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him, and that this "good" is being conformed to His Son (even when the "good" looks really "bad").

Sometimes I can see the good that is coming from the bad stuff of life. I can see how it's changing me and conforming me to be more like Christ; I can see how down the road it's working out to be better than what I had planned. Sometimes I can't see that right away, but in retrospect it becomes clear.

What I'm working on is giving thanks in the moment for the things that seem bad to me, the things that I don't like or understand. That's harder. It's also what God commands: don't be anxious, but pray with thanksgiving; give thanks in everything.

It doesn't change the circumstances, but I find that it changes me. I get a better perspective on things and remember that God is ultimately in control. I lose that anxiety and worry that would otherwise plague me and I'm more relaxed. Even if I don't understand why things are happening the way they are, I am more able to trust God for the outcome. And when I pray with thanksgiving, I find that there are things in every situation to be thankful for, things that I would have overlooked otherwise.

So I'm trying to be thankful in all circumstances. It isn't always easy, but it is an act of obedience and I have discovered that God blesses even feeble attempts to obey Him.