November 21, 2022
Melissa Valerio
I love Thanksgiving! It’s probably my favorite holiday. Know why? Because I LOVE to eat, and I love any holiday that promotes pigging out! I love all of that turkey goodness! The turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the corn, the cranberry, the green bean casserole, the pies, the eggnog, anything and everything that you would associate with a traditional American Thanksgiving feast! I love it all! I love the cooking, I love the Thanksgiving Day parades, I love the communion with family and friends, I kinda love the cleanup, I love the napping, I love the leftovers. Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on life and be thankful for the things that we have. And most often, if you go around a Thanksgiving dinner table, you will probably hear people talk about being thankful for things like good health, family, friends, maybe a promotion at work, or some other luxuries that they’ve acquired throughout the year. But how often do you hear anyone being thankful for unpleasant things? Like being thankful for a divorce? Being thankful for an illness? What about being thankful for a tragedy that’s happened in your family or to you directly? Is anyone actually thankful for these things? I can’t imagine that Joseph was thankful for his brothers selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:18-36). I doubt that Moses was thankful that he was run out of Egypt on murder charges (Exodus 2:11-15). And what about Job? Was he really feeling thankful when he lost all his children and possessions in a single day? (Job 1:13-22) These events are beyond tragic. Your first instinct surely wouldn’t be thankfulness, right? Yet, Romans 8:28 promises that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”. (NASB) This is a promise that even those unpleasant things in life, even those tragic things in life, WILL be used for good. It’s hard to see how the unpleasant things in life could be used for good but when I read Joseph’s story in Genesis, I get to see the whole picture from beginning to end. This man, who had one setback after another, was eventually used to save the entire nation of Israel. Moses was made into the deliverer of God’s people, freeing them from slavery. And Job’s faith would not waiver, eventually gaining him more in the end than what he lost in the beginning. But more importantly his story gives us so many lessons on hope, friendship, God’s glory and incredible awe, and even a background look at what happens in heaven sometimes.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says this : “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus”. (NASB) I had to learn that everything includes the hard, the horrible, the tragic, the unpleasant, the terrible, the unfair, the atrocious. Thankfulness isn’t necessarily a feeling, it’s an act. It’s a decision by will. If we anchor ourselves in Jesus, He promises to turn those tragedies into beautiful redemptive blessings. So, this year, let’s truly be thankful for everything. The good, the bad, AND the ugly.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You even for all the unpleasant things that have happened to me. Each event has helped to shape me and mold me more into Your image. With each heartbreak, You showed up with more care. With each disappointment, You showed up with more blessing. With each trial, You showed up with more strength. This life is hard. But with You, I can do anything. So please never leave me. In Your Son’s holy name, Amen.
Action: When listing what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving, include something unpleasant. Believe that while you may not see how it’s being used for good now, TRUST that Jesus will turn them into blessings. He can, and He will. He did it with His own death, so NOTHING can stop Him from doing the same for you.
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