As I think about the last couple years, I haven't been able to say that I am truly thankful for the circumstances God has put me in. To be honest though, some of these circumstances really sucked. Thankfully I am able to look back and be thankful for the circumstances God put me, and see how they brought me closer to God. I wish that I had been more thankful for the hard times while I was going through them. As I was thinking about this, it dawned on me that it takes a huge amount of faith to be thankful for trials when we are in the middle of them.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are instructed to give thanks in ALL things. This is such a hard commandment to follow. It would sure be a lot easier to obey this command if it said "give thanks in everything you like." But that's not what it says. We have all had times when something happened and we right away said "Thank you God!" The real challenge comes when we are going through difficult circumstances and are still commanded to give thanks. This is where faith comes in.
If we are able to have faith that, as promised, "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," (Romans 8:28) we will be able to give thanks when in the middle of not-so-ideal situations. I think this is the key to obeying God's commandment to give thanks in all things.
I don't know what God is doing in your life right now, but I encourage and challenge you to have faith that in whatever circumstance he has place you. He will use them to form and shape you into the person He wants you to be. After you have this faith, you will be able to truly give thanks for whatever trial God sends you. I promise though, it won't be easy.
I wish that in the difficult circumstances I have been in recently I would had been thankful for them. As I look back I see how God used them to conform me to be more like Him and am extremely thankful! God still as lot of work to do in my life though, and I pray that when the next trial is sent my way I am able to have the faith I need to be thankful for it.
As we approach thanksgiving, I encourage you to think about what you are thankful for and what you are not thankful for. When you think of something you are not thankful for, pray that God would help you be thankful for it!
Lastly, here is a picture to remind you that the God who makes beauty like this can and will make something beautiful out of the trials and difficult situations in our lives.
