November is the time of year when we focus on giving thanks for all God has given us.
But what do we do when it’s really hard to give thanks? What do we do if the world around us seems to have gone mad, or if our family is tearing itself apart, or if our body or mind is betraying us? How do we give thanks to God then? How do we even acknowledge God as good?
Paul writes: “Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that [my affliction] would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ . . . Therefore I am content . . . for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9a, 10).
There it is: God’s grace. Though we may be unable to defeat the troubles around us, God has promised to be there at our side, no matter what. God stands with us. God gives us the strength to endure.
And for that, we can say – and mean – Thanks be to God.
This message is excerpted from “When it’s really hard to be thankful” by Audrey Novak Riley from the November 1, 2018, blog of the Women of the ELCA.
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