When We Struggle to be Thankful

Adrian Rogers

Pastor Rogers, I know Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of thankfulness. But because of some very hard circumstances in my life, I am struggling with being thankful right now. How can I be thankful when things seem to go so wrong?

You know, we're supposed to thank God all times - for all things. And sometimes we don't feel very grateful or thankful. And yet, as God's children, we are to thank Him all the time and to thank Him for everything. Ephesians 5:20 says, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." When he says giving thanks always for all things, that makes it a little difficult. That brings up some real questions. There are some very bad things that happen to a child of God. Sickness, sorrow, disappointment, death, divorce, abuse, murder, rape, and mayhem. Why does God allow these things, and how can we possibly give God thanks always and for all things?

Let me suggest some factors you need to take into consideration:

Sin: Why do hard things happen? Very frankly, we live in a world that is cursed with sin, and therefore filled with sorrow. Job 14:1 says: "Man that is born of a woman has few days, and full of trouble." And so we bear in our bodies the ravages of sin, brought about by the failure of Adam.
Nature also bears this curse (Romans 8:21). We need to understand that our world and bodies are cursed, but we can take hope and can thank God in the worst of all circumstances because if we know the Lord, and are saved, one day, God is going to undo all that. Romans 8:21 says "Because creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." One of these days creation is going to be delivered from corruption. So in the midst of it all, I can thank God that one day, He's going to make it different.

Chastisement: If you're having difficulty, it just may be that you're under the chastening hand of Almighty God. In Hebrews 12, we see that "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?…Now no chastening for the present time seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (v. 7, 11). If you're suffering, it may be because God is chastising you. That doesn't mean He doesn't love you. It means that He does love you. He loves you too much to let you get away with sin and He will chasten you, dealing with you as with a son. If God takes you to the woodshed, as it were, and has to chastise you, thank God in this-because it proves He loves you and exercises "peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those that are exercised thereby."

Dependency: Sometimes God allows us to have problems to cause us to depend upon Him. Now, we have weaknesses, and weakness is an asset when it brings you to Jesus Christ, and helps you to depend upon Him. Our place of weakness can be our place of strength. If our troubles cause us greater dependency, then thank God for them.