Is There a Reason to Give Thanks this Holiday Season?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Really? Did I just read that correctly? Rejoice ALWAYS, pray CONTINUALLY, and give thanks in ALL circumstances. At first reading, that sounds a bit sadistic to me. Should we give thanks when our car breaks down? How about when we get a horrific health diagnosis? Or breakdown of a marriage or relationship? Loss of job? The list could go on and on.

As we approach the holiday season with Thanksgiving and Christmas, our culture reminds us that this is the “hap, hap, happiest” season of all! This is to be a season of joy, reflection, and thanksgiving. These holidays are to be celebrated with family and friends. Yet, the stressors around the holidays can make them very difficult. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 64% of people with an existing mental illness report that the holidays make their condition worse. Holidays can be a reminder of what was and is no longer. So how do we give thanks for that?

Notice the specific words of the text. It doesn’t say give thanks FOR all circumstances but IN all circumstances. One word makes a huge difference. We are not commanded to be thankful for the results of a sinful and broken world. However, we are commanded to find a reason to give thanks (and rejoice always) IN every circumstance. Why and how?

The only way to give thanks IN all circumstances, especially difficult ones, is if our source of joy is not in the circumstances themselves but rather in THE source of everlasting joy—God Himself.

If we only can give thanks for our circumstances then we will constantly ebb and flow. However, if we are able to give thanks for God—for who He is and what He’s done, then we truly have reason to rejoice ALWAYS.

Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian who suffered horribly in the German concentration camps. One account in her book The Hiding Place of her giving thanks, in even the most difficult of circumstances, is of great encouragement to me. She and her sister Betsy were transferred to one of the worst prison camps that they had ever been to. Upon entering their barracks at Ravensbruck, she found her surroundings overcrowded and infested with fleas. At that time, she read from the text above (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Betsy encouraged Corrie to be thankful, even for these horrendous conditions, but Corrie was understandably hesitant. After eventually giving in and giving thanks she recounts the following: “Because of the fleas, she was able to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings openly without threat of interference from the guards! She saw reason to give thanks despite and in the midst of an infestation of fleas.”

Yet, even if you’re in a place to acknowledge the Source of all joy, Jesus Christ, giving thanks can still be a difficult and practical task. There may be many things today causing great anxiety which is pulling you away from your desire to give thanks. Can I share something practical that has been very helpful for me when I’m in this place?

A couple of years ago, I had reached a low point in my life and was facing some very challenging and overwhelming decisions. I could barely keep my head above water. In the midst of my anxiety, I was reminded of 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

In my journal, I was tempted to bombard the page with a list of my 15 most anxious thoughts. However, I paused and forced myself to make 2 columns. Before getting to the 2nd column, I started the first column by listing all the blessings and things in my life that I had to be thankful for. And while at first, I did it begrudgingly, by the time I finished the exercise I was in a much different space mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

I had heard of a neurological study that said that our brains cannot feel both gratitude and anxiety at the same time. Certified psychiatric counselor Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury says the following: “At a neurobiological level, gratitude regulates the sympathetic nervous system that activates our anxiety responses, and at the psychological level, it conditions the brain to filter the negative ruminations and focus on the positive thoughts.”

It's possible that one of the reasons you’re not grateful today is because you do not intimately know the Source of joy, Jesus Christ. You can know Him today by turning from your sin, admitting your need for Him as your Savior, and trusting in Him alone for your salvation. Today, you can be forgiven of all your sins and be assured that the God who made the entire universe and raised the dead is FOR you—forever!

We were made to be grateful, not because life is always good, but because God always is. Therefore, this holiday season and always: Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.