IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS

It is very easy to rejoice and be thankful when things are good but difficult when we are going through a rough patch. This year has been such a trying one no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and the attendant economic, emotional, financial and mental health challenges. Most people have experienced the loss of a loved one or the loss of a source of livelihood. We have all had to struggle with feelings of anxiety, worry and helplessness at one time or the other during the course of this year. 

I had hoped that the spread of the virus would be curtailed before the end of the year and our lives gradually return to as near normal as possible. This has not been the case, and most countries are now experiencing a second wave of the viral infection.

Giving thanks at this time may not come easily but we have to be thankful. The Scripture enjoins us to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18) as this is the will of God for us. 

Why should we give thanks when everything is gloomy? 

Yes, things didn’t work out as planned and the expectations you had at the beginning of the year were not met. I feel you, but it could have been worse!  Despite everything that happened you are here, alive. The greatest blessing in my reckoning is the gift of life. When there is life, there is hope. A living dog is better than a dead lion so said the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes (9:4).

I came across a quote of G.K. Chesterton some time ago in a devotional and it is quite apt: “When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” A common saying in Yoruba language can loosely be translated thus: a person who engages in deep reflection will truly be grateful. 

The Psalmist encourages us to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercies endure forever (Psa.118:1). As enumerated in Psalm 103, the forgiveness of our sins; healing; redemption from destruction and satisfaction of our needs are some of the benefits we receive from God and for which we should be grateful. 

I commend to you the popular hymn by Johnson Oatman (1856- 1922) the first stanza of which goes thus:

    When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

    When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

    Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

    And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

     Count your blessings, name them one by one;

     Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

     Count your blessings, name them one by one;

     And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

There is always, always something to be thankful for if you only take the time to look.

Let us welcome 2021 with renewed hope. A new day, a new hope, a new beginning.