Thankful for Trouble

Every year around the Thanksgiving holiday you start seeing lists of things that people are thankful for on social media. Common things you see people expressing thanks for include: family, friends and neighbors, health, their home and car, their job, food, pets, freedom of religion, a loving spouse, grand parents and even their favorite dessert on the Thanksgiving table. Have you ever thought about being thankful for troubles? I doubt you have. Why would you ever be thankful for troubles in your life? Simply put if it were not for the difficulties in life the the lowest valley's in your life how would we ever be able to recognize how great the blessing, the mountain top moments in our life are!

 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 ESV Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

But is this realistic or even possible? How can we be thankful for trouble! The answer is yes, you can be thankful for difficult days. Even the days that seem unbearable! In order to thankful for the troubles in our life we must understand why we should be thankful. For example, the death of your spouse or a diagnosis of cancer is a terrible life altering moment. Cancer or the death of a loved one is a most difficult moment, that may even seem evil and we aren’t called to be thankful for things that are evil. But you can be thankful that God has promised to be with you, even when life isn’t the way you wish it were.

Hebrews 13:5 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

As crazy as this might sound, you can come to the place where you can be genuinely thankful for all of the pain, difficulty and loss you have experienced, even the searing pain of the loss of a loved one. No matter how much you have suffered, you can look back on the way God has used your desperation to make you more dependent on him and for that you can be deeply grateful. I’ve discovered that being thankful for pain is a hard concept to grasp because I live in the United States of America, a country which has convinced us that the pursuit of happiness and comfort is our inalienable right. The Declaration of Independence states that all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, when our comforts, conveniences, and cushions are threatened, we cry foul. This has deeply affected our understanding of what it means to give thanks and the types of things we are to be thankful for. In Second Corinthians Paul ask God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-8 ESV So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 

To be thankful for our comforts only is to make an idol of this life. God-sent afflictions, have a health-giving effect upon the soul, because they are the medicine used to purge you of self centeredness. Pain and the troubles of this life, sharpens us, matures us, and gives us clear eye-sight. Pain transforms us like nothing else can. If we are perfect and complete, we won't think we need God! So during this season of Thanksgiving don't forget to be thankful for the troubles God has given you!