Thankfulness in Suffering and Hardship

When we are in the midst of suffering or hardship, we can be easily consumed by it in our thoughts, behavior and outlook on life. How can we get out of that whirlwind of despair, depression, worry, sadness or anger that often comes in such times? The Lord provides us with the answer in his word and the theme of that answer is thankfulness.

What? Thankfulness? It seems like the last "frame of mind" we could have during our struggles in life, but if we strive to place thankfulness in the forefront of our mind, we can find peace, strength and comfort to carry us through.

Let's look at ‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬,
"Rejoice always and pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." It is God's will for us to give thanks. Not in some circumstances, but ALL circumstances.

Giving thanks SHIFTS our focus onto the blessings of God. Instead of dwelling on what we don't have, or what we have lost, or are suffering through, we can dwell on all God has given us. This keeps our eyes fixed on the positive and on the things above, overpowering the negative.

We also see in this passage that we are to "rejoice always". It is God's will for us to not only give thanks in ALL circumstances but to rejoice ALWAYS. He doesn't desire that we only rejoice when everything is going our desired way, but to rejoice even in the difficult times.

Apostle Paul teaches us why we should rejoice with thankfulness in our difficulties in ‭Romans‬ ‭5:3‭-‬5‬,
"We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us."

When we experience problems and trials, we become stronger in our faith, in our patience, in our compassion... and it develops us into the individuals God desires us to become. It is just like exercising our muscles... they don't develop and become stronger without the resistance of weights or the resistance of body weight in exercises such as push-ups. We need resistance in this life to develop us into spiritually mature individuals for God's kingdom.

James‬ ‭1:2‭-‬4‬ ‭tells us,
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

And we read in James‬ ‭1:12‬,
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

We should be thankful in our trials because God is equipping us for His kingdom and preparing us to be spiritually mature to receive the crown of life.

If everything went our way in this life, what kind of people would we be for His kingdom? Would we have understanding and compassion for others who have made mistakes, been hurt, suffered loss and struggled in this life? We wouldn't be very useful in God's kingdom if we hadn't ever had to overcome challenges or experience God's mercy, compassion and love for us in those difficult chapters of life.

We read in 2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3‭-‬4‬ ,
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

Apostle Paul teaches us here to give thanks to God as we experience His comfort during our hardships, because it teaches us how to give God's unconditional comfort to others.

So the next time we are in the midst of troubles or if we are currently in the midst of them, let us shift our minds towards being thankful.

Thankful for all God has given us,
thankful for the strengthening of our faith,
thankful for becoming a mature and complete individual for His kingdom,
thankful for God's unconditional love and comfort,
thankful we are being equipped to help others,
thankful He is preparing us to be qualified for the crown,
and
thankful that all circumstances will be worked out for our good as we read in ‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬.

If we focus on all the "good" which God has promised us and focus on our "ultimate purpose" in his kingdom as we are being refined in the fire, we cannot help but place thankfulness in the forefront of our mind when in the midst of suffering or hardship.

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