When we celebrate Thanksgiving 2020 this week, most of us will have weary hearts and fewer people around our table. Maybe you’re grieving. Maybe you’re anxious. Maybe you’re overwhelmed. Maybe you’re disappointed by interruptions to your holiday plans. Maybe you feel like celebrating but also feel burdened by the suffering in the world around you. 

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving when you don’t feel like giving thanks? 

Despite our feelings, God’s Word remains true. And God’s Word gives us so many reasons to rejoice, pray, and give thanks, just as Paul instructs us in 1 Thessalonians: 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

This scripture doesn’t say, “Give thanks for all circumstances.” God asks us to give thanks in all circumstances. But when our life is a mess, our future is uncertain, or our hearts are broken, how can we give thanks in those circumstances? We can call to mind, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the unchanging reasons for our thankfulness: God’s salvation. God’s presence. God’s promises. God’s character. 

In times of exhaustion, we have the Lord’s sustaining strength (Isaiah 40:29-31). When we’re under financial pressure, we can trust the Lord’s faithful provision (Philippians 4:19). When we struggle with loneliness, we can cling to the Lord’s everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). When we’re gripped by anxiety, we can give thanks for God’s sovereign care in every moment (Romans 8:28). 

Those who belong to Christ always have a reason to give thanks: the sacrifice of God’s Son for our salvation, the riches of His grace and mercy, and the righteousness of Christ given freely to us. We’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, and nothing in all creation can separate us from His love (Ephesians 1:3, Romans 8:38-39).

Yes, this Thanksgiving will be different, just like this whole year has been. And yet, God has given us an abundance of reasons to give Him thanks and praise. By the power of His Spirit, we can praise Him for who He is and what he has done for us in Christ—even on our most difficult days. 

No matter what you face this week, God has given you a reason to give thanks in all circumstances. 

I hate suspense, and it makes me a terrible movie-watcher. I don’t like the stressful feeling of watching through my fingers (yes, I’m covering my eyes) as I await the fate of my beloved main character. 

I handle it a little bit better when I’m watching a kids’ movie with my family. Why? Movies that are rated G usually have happy endings. There might be tension, maybe even a little bit of peril, but I know it’s going to turn out just fine. 

When we face difficulties, danger, or discouragement in this life, we don’t have to watch through our fingers and wonder how it will all turn out. (Is anyone else tempted to watch 2020 this way?!) God’s Word promises us a glorious ending unlike anything Hollywood could imagine. 

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Paul gives us several contrasts between the seen and the unseen. First, we have those things we can see. We see our bodies wasting away. We experience the pain of affliction that definitely doesn’t feel light or momentary. We look around this fallen world and see pain, injustice, suffering, and death. 

By faith, we can take our eyes off what we see and gaze upon what we’ve been promised. We are being renewed day by day – sustained and upheld by our Father as He conforms us to the likeness of His Son. Our suffering is light and momentary compared to the glory that lies ahead of us. And while the trouble we see around us is temporary, these glorious gifts we receive in Christ will last forever. 

Because of Christ, there’s a happy ending to this story. We don’t have to watch anxiously as events unfold, with nothing to cling to but wishful thinking. We have a living hope – Jesus Christ – and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. 

No matter what you face this week, do not lose heart. Glory is coming!

Do you remember the days before Siri, Google, and Alexa? To be honest, I’ve forgotten what it was like to have a question and not have the internet to turn to for answers. Now if I want to know “How many tablespoons are in a cup?” or “What time is sunset tomorrow?” or “What’s the weather today in Timbuktu?” – I just ask the nearest device and get the answer in seconds. 

I think because I have the answers to all of these questions at my fingertips, I’ve forgotten how to not know things. The abundance of information I usually enjoy increases the frustration I feel when my questions go unanswered. We all experienced this tension last week as our questions lingered long after we thought we’d have answers. 

Sitting in the tension of the not-knowing feels unsettling and even scary sometimes. But there’s peace that comes from acknowledging that there is One who knows the answer to every question: 

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28) 

Isaiah is speaking to people who face many unknowns, and he reminds them of four truths about God that give them peace in their uncertainty. First, God is everlasting. This means He doesn’t have the limits we have. Our understanding is finite because we are finite. His understanding is infinite, because He is infinite. 

Second, God is our Creator. He knows everything about everything because He made everything. 

Third, God doesn’t grow weary. I can’t think of a more accurate word to describe most of us right now than weary. But God never gets tired or needs to rest. His strength never fails. 

Fourth, God’s understanding is unsearchable. You could consume every bit of information this world has to offer, but you wouldn’t even come close to reaching the end of His understanding. 

The unknowns that frighten us are not unknown to the Lord. He is not surprised, confused, or worried by the circumstances that we face. He knows how He will use each one for good according to His perfect purpose (Rom. 8:28). 

No matter what you face this week, you can trust the One who has unsearchable understanding.