Why are you thankful? I don’t ask to give the impression that you shouldn’t be thankful, of course, but rather to get right down to what is the driving force behind why we give thanks? I’d suggest there are probably two pretty prominent drivers behind why we give thanks and, while I don’t want you to walk away from this thinking that either one of those is wrong, I do believe they are lacking. They don’t really get at the heart of thanksgiving.
You may have already experienced the first of these two without realizing it. What thoughts did you have when I asked the first question, “Why are you thankful?” Did your mind immediately begin listing all of the blessings for which you’re thankful? Then you’ve identified the first pretty typical approach to why we give thanks. We give thanks, we are thankful, because of all of the blessings we have received from God.
And this is true! We are abundantly blessed, and this approach to thanksgiving allows us to deeply reflect on how blessed we are, because even in the midst of a year like this, we can see that God has not turned off the spigot of his blessings – he has simply shown us different ways of blessing that perhaps haven’t been on our radars for some time.
This approach to giving thanks is reinforced through a number of traditions and practices. We take turns having everyone in the family include one thing for which they’re thankful in our prayers. We make lists of blessings for which we’re thankful at home. We make gratitude posts on social media. We write thank-you cards to others. My family has been covering a pumpkin with permanent marker, recording things for which we’re thankful. All of these are good and beneficial practices, but there’s a catch when our gratitude is dependent upon the blessings we receive: God’s blessings come and go in so many different ways, and we often really struggle to see them. Not that they aren’t there, but if “what-I-get” determines gratitude, we’re not always so great at appreciating what we have. And, don’t be surprised when some folks who have had a legitimately difficult hardship-filled life really struggle with giving thanks.
If identifying our blessings is one main approach to being thankful, the other is choosing to have a thankful attitude. In fact, you’ve probably even heard the phrase, “you gotta have an attitude of gratitude.” We have word art up on our walls somewhere that reminds us to “be grateful/thankful.”
I’m a big believer of this one, that the mindset one chooses to have has a lot to do with how we see things. And it does make a difference, to be sure! Applying this practice alone would be a huge step for many! If one chooses to focus on all that is wrong, on all that he or she doesn’t have, or all of life’s hardships, chances are, that person not only won’t come across as very thankful, but they’re probably also not that enjoyable to be around, if we’re being honest! So yes, choosing to have an attitude of gratitude or determining simply to be more thankful are good things. But even then, since my mindset will rise and fall like the tide, so then will my thanksgiving if it depends on my attitude.
So these approaches that typically drive our gratitude are unreliable because they both depend on our ability to continually identify our blessings or maintain a grateful attitude and mindset. And no one is able to do either 100% of the time. Our regular bouts of ingratitude or grumbling or complaining or discontentment or… (you get the point!) make it impossible! But there is good news, news for which we can be thankful. There is a better way to think about gratitude and giving thanks, and we actually see it very clearly in a man who lost everything: Job.
We’re given a pretty glowing description of Job when first introduced to him. “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (v.1b). “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (v.3). Job was two things: blameless and blessed. While we’re not accustomed to measuring wealth in terms of livestock, Job’s animals and the assets required to maintain them would have easily placed him in multi-millionaire status. We’re then told that Satan contended before God that Job’s piety was only a result of his transactional relationship with God; in other words, Satan presumed that Job was only good because God was good to him. If Job didn’t have it so good, Satan reasoned, then surely he would shun God. So God allowed Satan to put his theory to the test by declaring it open season on Job. Satan took advantage of it and wiped Job out, stripping him of his sheep and servants, and even his sons and daughters. Not only that, but Job received this devastating news all at the same time in successive waves, one gut-wrenching message after the other.
How does Job respond to this financial and family ruin? “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head” (v.20). Guess what? It’s OK to be hurt and angry when bad things happen. Doing so isn’t inherently sinful. Those are normal feelings and emotions. Read through the psalms and you find plenty of pain and anger. But how one manages those feelings determines whether or not they are allowed to breed sin. My advice? Take a page out of Job’s book and do what he did next: “Then he fell to the ground in worship…” (v.20).
Take note. Job shifted his focus away from his loss. He didn’t react to his loss by reasoning that the solution would be to make a list of all the things he still had so that he could somehow find a bright side in blessings. Neither did Job rely on having the right attitude, as if a commitment to a positive vibe or good thoughts would be the fix he needed. No, what did Job do? He focused on the Lord. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). If we reflect especially on those last words of Job in this verse, it reveals how and why Job could respond the way he did.
“May the name of the Lord be praised.” Everything flows from this. Clearly, under the circumstances, it’s quite obvious that Job’s adoration and admiration were not conditional. Job had just lost it all, and his response was to praise the Lord. That conviction provided him with the proper perspective, that he brought nothing into the world and would take nothing out of it, and that the Lord is free to give and take as he pleases. But his praise of the Lord wasn’t dependent upon his situation or condition, but rather on the simple understanding that the Lord is ALWAYS worthy of praise.
What then was the key to Job’s ability to stay positive, to not spiral into depression or suicidal considerations? He didn’t dwell on blessings, which as he had just experienced, could be snatched away in the blink of an eye; he didn’t resort to positive affirmations, telling himself, “Stay positive, Job, stay positive. Keep thinking good thoughts.” No, he focused on something far more reliable and unchanging: God’s goodness. And that was the source of his praise, his thankfulness, even in the midst of such devastating loss.
Why are we thankful? Because God is good. Say it with me. God is good. Say it like you mean it. God is good. Do you believe it? Then we always have reason to be thankful, because God is always good.
But how do we know that? Isn’t this really just something we need to tell ourselves to get through loss – a coping mechanism, of sorts? Absolutely not! We know God is good because that is how he reveals himself in the Bible. It is true. It is unchanging. God is good. Where would you like me to start when it comes to the number of times and the different ways the Bible details God’s goodness?! “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8). Jesus himself said, “No one is good – except God alone” (Luke 18:19). But you know there is more to the goodness of God than the Bible just calling him good; God shows how good he is.
In one month we celebrate the Savior born to the world. God is good. That Savior’s perfect life achieved for us the holiness necessary for heaven. God is good. That Savior’s sacrificial death paid off in full the entire debt of our sin. God is good. That Savior’s resurrection promises us that our own death is not the end. God is good. The Holy Spirit brought you to faith to believe all this, and keeps on pouring out the richest spiritual blessings on his people, today and always. God is good. And THAT is why we are thankful.