One Thousand Gifts :: Gratitude in the Midst of Trials

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- {1 Thess. 5:18}

Gratitude falls easily from lips that feel the sun’s warm rays and taste the sweetness of cream, when eyes behold God’s miraculous works and His wondrous creation.

Can gratitude be expressed when storms brew, winds howl, rains fall, and darkness threatens to envelop? Can lips praise God when a heart feels discouraged, when the road seems long and the journey is arduous?

I know the answer is yes, for God’s word tells me so. In fact, God commands it so. Thanks must be given in all circumstances, even when the giving is hard. Even when the feeling of gratitude is not there.

How can this be? Is God expecting the impossible?

No, He is expecting my trust. When I trust in His love and His sovereignty, I can be thankful in the midst of the storm because I know that He will not allow any trial that will not ultimately be for my good and His glory {Romans 8:28}. A trial is not simply an obstacle, it is a necessary means by which God accomplishes His will.

At such times, gratitude proves that my trust in genuine.

Our real blessings often appear to us
in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments;
but let us have patience
and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.
– Joseph Addison

I am counting my list of One Thousand Gifts:

90. exquisite connection with other believers through intercessory prayer
91. Stellan…a Home Run!
92. God’s miraculous works

93. moonlight against a clear sky

94. heavy frost
95. garage that keeps heavy frost off my car

96. son maturing…watching him take things in stride that once would have flustered him

97. beholding the glory of the Lord {2 Cor. 3:18}
98. progressive sanctification…from glory to glory {2 Cor. 3:18}
99. being equally yoked with my husband…in salvation and sanctification
100. talking about the things of the Lord with him

101. God’s unfailing love
102. His patience with me as I wrestle with Him
103. His work of perseverance in me
104. so that I might be mature, not a lacking anything {James 1:4}
105. His promises, giving me strength to carry on
106. being able to be thankful in the midst of trials

Consider it pure joy, my brothers,

whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work

so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4

Perhaps your lips don’t easily express gratitude. Perhaps your trials give you a heavy heart and thankfulness in the midst of them seems impossible. Would you trust Jesus, who gave thanks to His Father before giving Himself on the cross, and try speaking your own words of gratitude?. Begin with just one or two today, and you’ll find your heart lifting as joy is given a place to enter in.

To learn more about the list of One Thousand Gifts, visit Ann Voskamp.