1 Thessalonians 5:18 (LSB)
In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I grew up in rural Ohio where every fall brought a big shift in temperatures and scenery. The leaves on the trees changed from green to every shade of orange you can imagine, and the cooler temperatures meant that snow was not far off. I’ve never liked the cold, but I have always loved this time of year. You might think it’s because of the shift in the weather, the change in the scenery, or because pumpkin spice lattes are back on the menu, but really it has nothing to do with any of those things. For me, November ushers in the holiday season, when we have finished recovering from the craziness of back-to-school, and we start thinking about spending time with loved ones for Thanksgiving and Christmas. In a way, we subconsciously shift our focus from self to others, and that is a beautiful thing.
But I know for some people this is a very difficult time of year. Maybe someone dear to you passed away during the holidays, and everywhere you turn there are reminders of that loss. Maybe you lost a loved one recently and you are still in your year of “firsts.” Maybe you or a family member received a difficult diagnosis, and the holidays will be a lot different this year. Maybe you worry about how you can’t afford to buy the gifts you want for everyone on your list. Or maybe you get overwhelmed by all the extra activities, and not only do you have to put in extra effort to clean your house and keep your kids well-behaved, but you have to work even harder to put on a happy face because everyone expects you to be happy, and you’ve never felt more alone or depressed. If I can be real for a minute, I have felt all those things in the past, and I still feel some of them right now.
What do we do in these situations? We are told that gratitude helps us through hard times, but how do we find the strength to be thankful when we are struggling to just get through the day? Lately, in my personal studies, I have been drawn to look at people in Scripture and see what I can learn from how they responded to their circumstances. For this situation, I want to look at David. Although he certainly had his flaws, he is still remembered as a great king, and God did say he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).
David’s life was a wild ride. He started out as the youngest son, overlooked by everyone including his own father, when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to someday be king over all of Israel. After the anointing, he worked in the palace as a musician while he continued to tend the family sheep. Then one day during a war, he was sent to deliver lunch to his older brothers on the frontline and ended up killing a giant, effectively ending the war. After his victory tour, he married the king’s daughter, and it looked like everything was working out just as it should for the anointed future king. But then the current king decides David is a threat to the throne and tries to kill him, at which point David is forced to go on the run and is relentlessly hunted by the most powerful man in the nation and the commander of the entire army. It is at this point when David is hiding in a cave, fearing for his life and feeling abandoned, overwhelmed, and helpless, that he writes Psalm 142. This Psalm echoes everything I have felt in my own times of crisis:
“My spirit was overwhelmed within me.”
“For there is no one who regards me. There is no escape for me. No one cares for my soul.”
Just a few sentences later, David shifts the focus from himself to God:
“You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
“Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Your name.”
We know how David’s story ends, and how he survived this situation and went on to become king. But at the time this Psalm was written, David did not know how the rest of his life would turn out. At this moment, he felt hopeless and certainly did not feel thankful. So he turned to God and asked for the strength to have gratitude.
No matter where you are this holiday season, whether you are looking forward to or dreading the days to come, I pray you follow David’s example and ask God for strength and gratitude.