But sometimes, God help us, we feel anything but thankful.
The girl who has been raped--how on earth can she be thankful?
The woman bending in abject grief over that too-small coffin-
Thankful? Really?
Yes. Really.
We have to learn, somehow, that thankfulness is not dependent on our surroundings.
It's not bound by what we've received.
It is what God asks of us, over and over again.
The psalms remind us to sacrifice thank offerings.
Paul tells us to give thanks in all things.
All things.
Ownership
When horrible things happen, we make the mistake of thinking that God certainly didn't mean to give thanks in these things. But yes, he did. I know , it seems cruel. But think about it. When you turn the situation over to God, giving thanks for that situation, you release ownership of it to him. You do not have to worry about how it's going to go down. God has it under control, and you've acknowledged that he is aware of it and working on turning it to good in your thanksgiving. You're not just thanking him for the pain; you're acknowledging that he will relieve the pain.
Consistency
Thankfulness is not a sometimes thing. If we only give thanks when things are going well, we soon equate going well with God's grace. But God's grace is in the difficult situations, too. When I suffered loss, I suffered enormously, yes, but i also learned. When I went through the loneliness of time spent with no friends, I learned that I could be independent and at the same time content. I am thankful for the lessons learned through my struggle.
Power
Trauma takes away our self reliance. We see ourselves as weak and powerless, and that mindset causes us to see ourselves as victims. When we consciously give God thanks for the trauma, we are taking back our power. It takes a strong person to stand up and give thanks for something that hurts. If we can sacrifice our weakness by offering thanks, we are allowing God to make us strong.
Obedience
These are only a few of the benefits of giving thanks during the dark times. I hope you think about what is happening in your heart in the midst of trouble. When I first began realizing this lesson, I started thanking God specifically for each stone that had been set in my path. I always prayed, "Lord, in obedience I thank you for ... and then I named my struggle. I find that naming takes away the fear--it's harder to be afraid of something that has a name.
So I hope that as you walk into the sacrifice of thanksgiving, you do so with an open heart and singing lips. Amen.