Being Grateful In Tough Times

In life, it is easy to be thankful when things are going well, life is good, and you are healthy. But how are you thankful when times are tough, you have lost a loved one, your bills aren’t paid, you’re sick or your marriage is a mess? How can you be thankful in tough times? How do you thank God when things are just not going your way? It is easy to let tough times keep us from being thankful. It is easy to focus on all of the things that are going wrong in our life. It is easy to focus on the negative things that have occurred this past year, and neglect focusing on the positive things that have happened in our lives.

It is easy to give thanks for the blessings. It is more difficult to give thanks for the blessings in disguise. Usually, God uses tough times to build people’s character and strengthen their faith. By far, the most difficult task is to give thanks no matter what happens—even in the situations that make no sense or are extremely painful. Yet this difficult task has been assigned to all believers. The Scriptures say, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV). NCV, “And give thanks whatever happens…” for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Learning to give thanks in everything means learning to trust God completely. “In every circumstance” we are to give thanks no matter how bad or how tough things are.

It is God’s will that we give thanks to Him in every circumstance of life whether it be in adversity or prosperity. That means our attitude and our actions should continually display thankfulness to the Lord. This easily can be neglected if we choose to focus on the pains, sufferings and difficulties of life, rather than on the blessings of life. Ephesians 5:20, “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul exhorts us to give thanks always for all things.

Did you know that the healthiest human emotion is not love but the healthiest human emotion is gratitude? It actually increases your immunities. It makes you more resistant to stress and less susceptible to illness. It’s the healthiest emotion. The attitude of gratitude. People who are grateful are happy. But people who are ungrateful are miserable because nothing makes them happy. They’re never satisfied. It’s never good enough. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude, of being thankful in everything, can reduce stress in your life. We should be thankful especially during times of hardship and difficulty.

How can we be thankful in tough times?

1. Look at what you have and not on the things you don’t. It’s easy to focus on what we have lost rather than on what we have left. When we focus on what we have lost, or on the things that we don’t have we will miss many opportunities to be thankful to God. God wants us to focus on the “many blessings” that He has bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3 NLT), “How we praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.” God has bestowed every spiritual blessing upon us in Christ. In Christ we live and move and have our being. In Christ we have everything we need. In Christ we have salvation, abundant grace, righteousness, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. In Christ we lack not one thing.

2. Reflect upon the goodness of God and not on the difficulties of life. Our nature is constantly leading us to focus on the problems and difficulties of life. We always tend to look at the negative and not on the positive. It is during tough times that we need to reflect upon the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 107:1 NKJV), “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 34:8) “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” We serve a good God. We serve a God who is greater than our problems, and greater than our difficulties. Tough times sometimes distort our view of who God really is. God is for us and not against us. His plans for us are good not bad. He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. He wants the best for us and not the worst. Focusing on our difficulties and not on the goodness of the Lord keeps us depressed, discouraged, down and unthankful. We fail to be grateful when we focus on the problem. You must learn how to cast down negative thoughts and see your situation the way God sees it. There is nothing too hard for Him.

3. Remember that God has a purpose bigger than the problem. Although when we are experiencing tough times in our lives, and we may not understand why we may be going through the things that we are going through, we need to remember that “all things work together for good to those who love God” Romans 8:28. We can be thankful in knowing that God will bring good out of all of our afflictions, trials, difficulties and sufferings. God never wastes a hurt. He never wastes a trial. Through those trials God will accomplish His purposes in your life. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “17 For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” We must not lose hope in the midst of tough times. Instead we need to remember that God has a purpose greater than the problem.

Jesus set the example. Jesus lived a life of gratitude. He regularly thanked the Father. Likewise, we must be people that practice being grateful whether circumstances are favorable or not. A lot of people may ask, “How do I know what God’s will is for my life?” The Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will.” God’s will for your life is, “In everything give thanks.” In fact, if you’re not experiencing the attitude of gratitude you’re out of God’s will.

You may also ask, “How can I be grateful when I’ve lost so much? I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my health, I’ve lost my husband or wife. How can I be thankful in that situation?” You look not at what you’ve lost, you look at what you have left. You reflect on the goodness of God and not on the difficulties of life. And you remember that God has a purpose greater than the problem.
So the question is: What are you going to give God thanks for this Thanksgiving week? Your health? Your freedom? Your relationships? In everything give thanks. Gratitude is a stress reliever because it gets your eyes off the problem and puts it on the positive things in your life. In tough times we can be grateful by looking not on what we lost, but on what we have, reflecting on the goodness of God and not on the trial, and remembering that God has a purpose greater than the problem.