20 Things to be Thankful For When Life is Hard

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow celebrating the holiday with family and friends. It comes in the midst of an uncertain time in the history of our country and the world. A time that makes it easier to worry rather than to be thankful.

The wonderful thing about God, though, is that life doesn’t have to be good in order for us to give thanks. Because there’s so much to thank Him for that has nothing to do with all the troublesome things going on in the world.

If you’re having a hard time giving thanks this holiday, here’s a list that I hope will help.

Things to be Thankful For

1. That God can stop bad things from happening if He wants to.  Jeremiah 32:27

2. That when He does allow bad things to happen, He always has a plan for redemption. Hebrews 12:10-11, James 1:2-4, 12, 1 Peter 5:9-10, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11-13

3. That our suffering won’t last forever. Psalm 30:5, Psalm 71:20, Jeremiah 31:13,17

4. That we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. Psalm 18:28-29, Philippians 4:13

5. That God is good even when life isn’t. Psalm 31:19, 34:8, 36:5-9, 59:16-17

6. That even suffering can be good. Philippians 3:8-12, 1 Peter 3:13-17, 4:1-2

7. That life is about God, not about creating the perfect life. Philippians 1:21,3:7-8, 4:11-12, James 1:17

8. That God will take care of us. Psalm 73:23-24, Isaiah 41:17-18, Lamentations 3:22-25, Philippians 4:19

9. His power.  Psalm 73:26, Isaiah 44:6-8, 1 John 4:4

10. His presence. Psalm 34:18, 46:1-3,7, Isaiah 43:2-7, John 14:16-19, Hebrews 13:5

11. His Word. Psalm 119

12. His love. Isaiah 62:4a-5b, Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 8:35, 38-39

13. His peace. Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:27

14. His protection. Psalm 27:1-5, 46:1-2, 7, 61:1-2, 63:7-8, Matthew 11:28

15. His sufficiency. Psalm 63:7-8, 73:25, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Philippians 1:21, 3-7, 4:11-13

16. His compassion and understanding.  Matthew 9:36, Hebrews 2:17,18, 4:15-16

17. All He has done for us in the past.  Psalm 77:11-15

18. That He loves our loved ones more than we do and yearns to bring them back if they’ve strayed.  Jeremiah 31:3, 20, 32:37-42 Psalm 78:32-39, Hosea 11, 2 Peter 3:9

19. That He can bring things into their lives to draw them back.  Jeremiah 32:37-42, Ephesians 3:20-21

20. That we can make a difference through prayer. James 5:16, Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-8, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone and if things are difficult, remember Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Image at beginning of post courtesy of Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net