Thankfulness in Unwanted Circumstances

By Jaime Sherman

A governor-mandated freeze to crack down on the rapidly spreading coronavirus took affect this week much to the groaning of my children, who had all their outside-the-home activities canceled in rapid succession. One teenage daughter claimed 2020 hasn’t brought good things, and I took that statement as a challenge. In rapid succession, I listed blessings from just the past few days, and my children quickly grew tired of my non-stop list. My husband, who a week ago had four stents placed in his diseased heart, stopped what he was doing to quietly praise God with me.

My daughter wasn’t ready to concede, and she wanted me to name the bad things that had happened in 2020. I declared I could find something good that came from all the bad things, for I believe that I Thessalonians 5:16-18 is our roadmap for times such as these:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

My children may struggle to see the blessings in a year of disappointments and pain, but my husband and I have faced extremely hard years before, some harder in many ways than this one. God has given us perspective to see the blessings in everything that gets canceled, every decision that alters our hoped-for story. We can declare that God is good all the time, even in our unwanted circumstances.

Throughout the New Testament, the Greek word eucharisteó is used to describe how Jesus and His followers chose to respond to God’s good grace. The word includes two other Greek words of note: charis, meaning grace, and chara, meaning joy. To give thanks is to say: “Yes, Lord, I acknowledge your good grace in my life in all circumstances. I choose to rejoice in You today no matter what I may face.”

So, what are you choosing to thank God for today?

We will ask you this question each day through Thanksgiving, and we would love for you to share one thing each day. May we light up this dark world for God’s glory simply by naming the ways He is oh so good to us.

Here are some ways you can share what you are thankful for in this season:

1. Attempt to post a comment below. We know this has been difficult in the past, so we are not holding our breaths that this will work this time. But it’s worth a try! Tip: Leave a comment without adding your contact information, and you might have more success.
2. Go to either our Facebook or Instagram page (see link on this page) and leave a note in the comments section.
3. Send us a comment through the blog’s “contact” tab above, and we’ll make sure your items get published for others to celebrate with you.