“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV)
It’s November 2 and this is our second thankful scripture in a month of gratitude. It’s a text that is near and dear to my heart. It hung on my living room wall for a full two years as a daily reminder until I finally gave it away to a friend who needed it more.
How do we give thanks in all circumstances? Doesn’t that seem too Pollyanna to be possible? Honestly, it is, for the unpracticed. Thanskgiving is just like any other muscle: we build it when we employ it, and the more we employ it, the less effort it requires to put it to use. If you have done a thousand sit-ups, you’ve build a strong core. You don’t need to think about engaging that core to work and play and move, you just bring it into all you do because it’s an essential part of who you are. Thanksgiving is much the same; the more you exercise it, the stronger and more transformative it becomes.
I learned all this as my mother was dying. In then end of September of 2014, she received a cancer diagnosis that sent us all spinning. The very next month, I went to a women’s conference where I won a raffle for the One Thousand Gifts book. I came home and started reading it, but could not push past the author’s lack of possessive pronouns in the first few chapters. Fast forward a few months to February. Mom’s diagnosis had escalated. She was stage four and a candidate for a drug trial. One Thousand Gifts still graced my bedside table and the Spirit beckoned me back to it. It was in that deep trench of fear and loss where God used Ann Voskamp’s vulnerability and personal commitment to gift counting to transform my thought life completely. Yes, my mom was dying and there was nothing I could do to change that, but I could cultivate the courage to show up and find God’s graces amidst the messy and most distressing.
Looking back I see how He handed me a survival guide for that season. It wasn’t a distraction, it was an invitation to be fully attentive to His presence in the painful-powerful moments. It was a personal catechism; bending my theology at the knee, learning to live out a daily rhythm of gratitude.
The strength I forged in that season has stayed with me and become my core. I would like to say that those months crawling through the inky shadow of my mother’s death were the worst, but they pale in comparison to the trials thereafter. I look back and realize I was well-prepared. Developing my muscles of gratitude in the months of my mother’s transition had enabled me to be thankful in all circumstances and it’s still a muscle I rely on each and every day. This second of November is no exception.
So if you read this scripture and it feels impossible, ask the God of impossibilities to assist you. Pick up Ann Voskamp’s best seller, enroll in her free online study and wade through her pronoun-less inner monologue to get to the meat of it. Go ahead and begin building that gratitude muscle for yourself.
“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Him to live.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 MSG)
Lord, help us. Muscle-building is not our strong suit. We’d rather sit on the couch then strengthen our core. We read Your word and realize that You have commanded us to be thankful, in this season and all seasons. We cannot possibly hope to obey without first choosing an attitude of gratitude. Help us get good at giving thanks. Open our eyes to see Your gifts, sent out to us each and every day. Help us get good at identifying them in the light so we can still find them in the dark. Amen.