Thanksgiving (or how to give thanks when life sucks)

It's easy to be thankful when things are going well.

You got a new job, you received a raise, you find your wife is pregnant.

But Sometimes Life sucks!

Am I right?

We all go through hard times. Someone dies, someone leaves us (divorce), you get in a car wreck, the steelers lose, etc

And in those moments I do not want to be thankful. In fact, my heart is stubborn and demands justice. Why did this happen to ME! This is so UNFAIR!

Anyone in the same boat?

So how do we choose thankfulness when things look differently than what we thought they would?


I guess the best way for me to communicate this is through stories. The first is from the Bible and the second is from my life.

First the Bible......

In the First Century, there was this man named Paul. He was Against Christianity originally but had a pretty dramatic encounter with the Lord (Acts 9) and become a follower of Jesus. In those days, it was dangerous to confess you were a follower of Jesus. Many were jailed; while others were killed for their faith.


A few occasions Paul was falsely accused and sent to Jail. He did NOTHING WRONG. In injustice to say the least. We read of this in Acts 16. So he does what any normal person would do. Complain! Right?

No.

He starts singing worship songs to God and giving God thanks while in jail. While Paul and his friend Silas were praising God and giving thanks, the whole prison was shaken by a massive earthquake.

All of the doors immediately opened and all of the prisoners chains were loosen.

The jailer awoke (naturally) and decided it was time to end it all. The Jailer took his sword about to commit suicide. But Paul yells, "Stop, don't kill yourself We are all here."

This jailer has a faith crisis moment and asks these men who were so free that they didn't leave jail "What must he do to be saved?"

What a crazy story?

There were other times when Paul was in Prison and thanking God and there wasn't a direct answer to pray. Paul wasn't praying to God so that God would act. He was praying because He knew that God was good. He knew he had some much to be thankful for. First and foremost that God is good and that God is in control, even when we are in Jail.


Even when your wife has a miscarriage.

That is my story. About a year and half ago (May 2015) we found out that my wife was pregnant. We were a combination of excited, nervous, and anxious.  But to our dismay, at the first appointment (8 weeks), we discovered that this little baby had no heartbeat. They scheduled for us to come back in for an ultrasound in 2 weeks to check again but still no heartbeat.

This feeling had to be worst than being falsely accused and being in prison. The doctors ordered for a DNC and questions start to abound. Why would God let this happen? Why didn't he answer our prayers?

Why does God let bad things happen?

There is no easy, clean answer to that question.

Maybe you are going through your own tradegy today? Maybe you were raped, maybe your spouse died, maybe you are really sick, or depressed?

IDK?

But sometimes life sucks and we need to be really intentional about how we think and how we act in light of it all.

What gave me hope through the pain is my belief in God. My belief that this little baby was in heaven with the rest of my loved ones who have already passed.

What gave me hope was that God was not done redeeming my situation. When it seems like we lose, don't give up hope. God is not finished. Remember Jesus? He was falsely accused and died a criminals death.

For what purpose? His death and resurrection brought us a new relationship with God. Sin, our bad behavior separated us from God, But Jesus came as the prefect sacrifice for our sins.

On the outside, it looked like injustice and evil were winning, yet it was all apart of God's master plan. For on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus defeated death and hell.

Hebrews 12 declares, "He considered the joy set before him so he could endured the cross."

It brought Jesus JOY to endure the cross because he knew the end result was purchasing us a relationship with God, our Father forever!

What if we have that eternal perspective? Not denying the pain. But saying God, this hurts, But I know you are Good. I give you thanks because I know you are going to bring Good out of all this pain, hurt, and regret.

The Good News on Nov 21, 2016, My wife is again pregnant. And though I have fears and doubts that the same thing could happen I am choosing each day to place my trust in God. We are at 19 weeks. Going strong.

This thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for. But more than just being thankful for Future Baby Slattery, I am thankful for the strengthening of my faith in God. Though, I don't wish a miscarriage or any tragedy on anyone it can strengthen our relationship with God as we learn what it truly means to trust in Him.


My prayer for you this thanksgiving season is to give thanks. Don't just give thanks for the usual stuff (family, friends, job, food, etc). Give thanks for the pain, give thanks for the days of sorrow, give thanks that things don't always go the way you planned.

Because it means that God is at work!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016