By Pastor Nissa Peterson
Chatfield and Root Prairie
Lutheran Churches
My social media feeds in the month of November is often full of friends doing a “30 days of thankfulness challenge” where they post one thing they’re thankful for each day in November. Social media is already often a place where people show off a perfect-seeming version of their lives, and this focus on thankfulness can feel like another ploy to show how great their lives are. The intent of this challenge is to help people focus on thankfulness in their lives, but it can sometimes come off like just a list of achievements – which feels disingenuous for anyone reading who is struggling through life.
Our culture is really only good at being thankful when things are going well, when life is abundant. We can easily say thank you for being healed, our team winning, an abundance of food, or supportive friends and family. These things are good and easy to be thankful for when we have them!
But for people struggling to make ends meet or facing significant challenges, being thankful is hard. It’s hard to be thankful when someone we love is losing a battle with illness, we are struggling financially, important relationships are crumbling, or we are fighting addiction or depression.
As Christians, we can be thankful no matter what is happening in life, because of God’s presence in our lives! And one big resources we have in our thankfulness journey is the Bible – especially Psalms! The Psalms are like the Bible’s “thankfulness challenge” – because there are over 30 Psalms of thankfulness!
Some thankful psalms are light and full of praise for God’s goodness:
“Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name, for the Lord is good!” (Psalm 100:4-5)
Some Psalms of thankfulness were written by people who were in the deepest, darkest parts of life.
“Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.” (Psalm 107:4-9)
The one thing the Psalms of thanksgiving all have in common is that they focus on GOD – not on what a person has or doesn’t have. For Christians, thankfulness is because of God – who God is, that God loves us, that God is with us whether things are great or terrible. When our thankfulness is rooted in God’s presence in our lives, it is possible to be thankful even when life is knocking us down.
So this Thanksgiving week, I invite you to participate in a time of intentionally being thankful (whether or not you choose to publicly post it is your decision!). But rather than focusing solely on the positive things in your life, focus on GOD. Be thankful for where God is in your life- in the blessings and in the challenges.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Nissa
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