We should, by now, all know the meaning and purpose of Thanksgiving (it’s baked into the name, right?) We should use this day to be grateful for the gifts around us. We should spend precious time with loved ones while we can. We should outwardly express all we’re grateful for so it doesn’t pass our notice. We should eat lots and lots of food prepared by wizened hands!
That’s a mighty list of the things we should do. (And one “should” that shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish!)
But this year, do you feel like you can? Do you feel “grateful”?
I hope you do! But for the folks who feel a disconnect between what we know we should do this holiday and how we feel (myself included), what do we do with that space in between? Ignore it? Leave it to fester in the dark? Let the guilt of all we know we should be doing leave us dreading a day that’s supposed to be refreshing to our souls?
I don’t particularly love those options. And, I think Scripture has a better way forward for us.
During the moments when my emotions don’t match what I know is spiritually best for the kind of abundant living Jesus provides, I find myself coming back to this question: What does God actually require of me? Does He need me to be happy-go-lucky all the time? Does He need me to ignore that ache that says gratitude is difficult right now, even though I know I need it? Does He need me to pretend that everything’s okay when I have a list of reasons why it’s not?
I think Psalm 51:17 answers this question powerfully.
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.
–Psalm 51:17
A broken spirit is pleasing to God. God welcomes the broken and humbled heart. Whew, what a relief.
It’s from this verse that I propose we take some time to redefine what gratitude might look like for us this year, if you need that. Perhaps our broken places could reveal more about gratitude than we initially assumed.
If you’re aching over a loss, may we be grateful to have had something so worth loving.
If you’re angry over an injustice or dispute, thank God that He has placed a spirit of righteousness in you and is calling you to stand against evil.
If you’re bitter or cynical, let’s give thanks that God did not design the world to be this way. Jesus came to be our hope for all things to be made new because they need to be healed, not because they’re supposed to be this way.
If you’re weary and burdened, I’m grateful that you have eyes to see the needs around you and that you care, because He cares.
If you’re lonely or depressed, I thank God for the unique gift of you in this world and the ways He reveals Himself through you.
See, I don’t think we have to only be grateful for the shiny stuff, the well-worded stuff, the stuff that could be painted in calligraphy and hung up on our walls. I think there’s more to be found in God’s heart when we look at the burdens, emotions, and weights in our lives and try to see Him at work in the middle of those things.
This Thanksgiving, take Psalm 51:17 with you as you look for places to give thanks. Let God’s Word open your eyes to how He may be bringing up more for us to be grateful for than we could ever ask or imagine.
