This verse plagues people. The idea of giving thanks no matter what is very difficult. But there is one word here that changes the whole meaning. The word is in. Give thanks IN all circumstances. It does say be thankful for all circumstances. God understands that isn't always possible. We didn't hear Jesus say, "Thank you for the beating, the lashing, the painful strengthing walk of miles carrying a huge cross, the nails on my hand." It's not about being thankful for the pain we're in. It's a reminder that we are still to be thankful because even in these moments there is still something to be thankful for.
During a very difficult time in my life; a time when the world seemed to be crashing around me, I could feel my faith fading. I was angry and hurt and depressed from the despair of what I could see. My daddy came to me and tried to share this verse from 1 Thessalonians with me. I was so angry! What do I have to be thankful for? How dare he preach to me!
My daddy had wisdom I hadn't yet seen. My daddy was sick/injured for 39 of the 40 years my parents were married and all 28 years of my life. I remember his absence being great in my childhood because it seemed like he was always in the hospital. Although that lessened when we moved to Florida, he always had pain, but he was always filled with love and joy. He had found peace and he found it in thanksgiving. As I went through this valley, Daddy told me that if I was thankful, I too would find peace. Through my pain and tears, I confessed I couldn't see anything to be thankful for anymore. I was sure I could never find it again.
My daddy brought me a spiral notebook on the front of which he wrote 'Thanks Journal.' He gave it to me and asked me to make him a promise. My daddy knew that out of my love for him, I would say yes, even if only to prove I was right. He made me promise that for one month I would keep it next to my bed and every night before I went to sleep I would write at least one thing I was thankful for. "Even if at the end of the day all you can find is 'I'm thankful this day is over' or 'I'm thankful it's time to sleep so I can forget.' Write one thing and the date for one month." And so began my journey.
In the beginning, it was hard. For the first week it took me sometimes an hour to come up with one thing to write. My personality doesn't like the same answers over and over so that became part of it too. I couldn't have the same thing every day so I was having to put something different to satisfy myself. The next thing you know, one thing became 2 or 3. By the end of the month it was 3-5 most of the time. Sometimes it was back to one and sometimes that one was, "I'm thankful this day is over.'
But a change occurred in me. Was I thankful for what I was going through? Absolutely not! (Although now I can look back and see some of the why). However, I began to be thankful IN what I was going through.
The month ended and I didn't stop. 3months...6months....a year...what a year it had been! I was now sometimes writing more than a page. My smile had come back and it reached from my heart. My hope had come back. I had begun to learn that now I only see in part. I can only see what's really happening; one piece of this puzzle called life. But one day I will see fully as the picture begins to appear through the pieces added. I even found that I could be thankful for some of the steps I had to go through because they brought a peace I had forgotten. I had found freedom in the valley and peace in thanksgiving. Peace brought with it joy. Joy is not happiness, which can be robbed by the occurrences of our daily life. Joy is a feeling that comes from deep inside. You can't really understand; it's just there allowing smiles amidst tears; laughter amidst mourning. My daddy had given me an incredible gift. He shared wisdom, that he too had learned the hard way.
Give thanks IN all circumstances. It opens our eyes to blessings we don't always see. It reminds us that God is with us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. It allows us peace to help us get through the pain. And getting through reminds us that God has a plan for each of us.
