Being Thankful when Life is hard
Prayers appreciated! I recently had surgery on my ankle after tearing a ligament playing basketball with students. It’s going to be a long recovery. I should get the cast off right before our new baby comes. This is one of several of life’s hardships our family is navigating. Life is hard but God is good!
Have you ever felt like nothing is going right?
Have you ever prayed, “God, I can’t take any more… please fix this,” only to have another difficulty thrown your way?
In my late 20’s I felt like young David on a meteoric rise; like I was God’s anointed with a path of blessing. In my naivety, I defined blessing as a lack of difficulty. In my 30’s life simply got harder. Likely some combination of my own sin growing in my blindspots and the natural chaos of life, it was a perfect storm.
Now, I still feel like David, I’m starting to pray like him. Not so much in his victories but in his desperation. In Psalm 5:1-2 David demands God listen to him. Why would he say that? Because he didn’t feel heard.
“Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.
Hear my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.”
It’s as if David yelled, “God, I’m here! Have you forgotten me?!”
I have learned that David sounded desperate a lot.
I wish it were different but being desperate is the prime heart posture to see God work in our lives.
Psalm 107:1 is one of the most repeated lines of text in the Old Testament:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.”
Why? Because in the chaos of life we can forget that God is good. His faithful love towards the follower of Jesus shows his goodness. There is no expiration date on His love, it goes on FOREVER!
Whether I am frustrated with life or under the weight of trial, I can trust that God loves me. In the power of His Spirit I can be supernaturally moved toward thankfulness.
It’s ironic, I am filled with anxiety over things I want to change, and yet I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone. God has always taken care of me, He has reserved a seat for me in Heaven, and given me a beautiful family. I have already received so much more than I deserve!
Jesus,
I pray for the person reading this post. I pray that you bring them closer to you in the sweet things in this life and the hardships. I pray that you set their eyes on You and help them to see that You can turn whatever comes their way into a blessing.
Amen