The difficulties of life are often overwhelming.
Sometimes these difficulties are massive events that stop us in our tracks.
- Cancer. Car accident. Job loss.
Sometimes these difficulties are the minor annoyances of daily life.
- Minor aches and pains. No parking. Another day of quarantine.
Regardless of our situation, the events around us can begin to make us feel overwhelmed. Maybe you’re in a situation like this right now, surrounded with complexities or hardships that have left you feeling buried.
Paul, however, called us to ‘Give thanks in everything’ (1 Thess. 5:18). But the deep question in our hearts can often be, “How?” How do we give thanks in moments of trial or hardship?
The Psalmist’s Answer
Ours isn’t the first generation to face trials. The psalmists who penned the songs of Israel also faced life’s difficulties. We can learn from their logic, particularly in light of trials.
While my dad was dying, I went to his house, and he asked me to read Psalm 107 to him. I did, and the first verse stuck out to me during that trial -
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Here, the psalmist calls the reader to give thanks to God, but there is a logic to it (see the word ‘for’? It’s repeated twice to give continuation of thought).
The first ‘FOR’ connects giving thanks to God’s goodness. Sometimes it’s hard to see His goodness, particularly in times of trial. But the psalm tells us that God IS good.
But of course, this begs the question—How do we KNOW that God is good?
Love and goodness
The answer, of course, is readily apparent in the verse - His lovingkindness (gracious love) is everlasting. When the psalmist found himself in trials, he turned to the reality that God’s love is unconditional and eternal.
If God loves us unconditionally and eternally, then all that He does in our lives MUST be good—even when it seems so terribly bad!
But…the greatest question of all is this: How can we know with 100% certainty that God loves us during life’s trials? The answer is found in Romans 5:8 - God showed His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
If Jesus died for us—if God would do that greatest of all good things—then He certainly loves us.
And if He loves us, He is doing good for us each moment of each day, regardless of what may come.
Our great need, then, is faith. Faith in the cross, faith in God’s love, and faith in God’s goodness. Each link of the chain connects us to His heart for us! And when these things are true, we can ‘Give thanks to the Lord!’
