How To Be Thankful When It Is Hard- Part 2

Welcome back to the 5^th post in the Turning Thanksgiving into ThanksLiving series! Today is Part 2 of How To Be Thankful When It Is Hard. In the last post, we talked about Things to Remember. Today we will talk about Things to Relinquish. I can’t wait to share with you later this week some incredible faith stories written by my friends! To be thankful when it is hard, here are some things to relinquish:

• Relinquish our rights. When we relinquish our right to understand, it shows that we trust God. Everything that happens in our lives is filtered through His providence. Don’t separate the fact that God loves you from the suffering that He allows. Even though we relinquish our rights at salvation, doing it daily is hard. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” We have to surrender our will daily, not just at salvation. It’s not my life. He is my Lord. 
• Relinquish our will. Romans 12:2 tells us to become living sacrifices to God. Have you ever made a painful sacrifice out of love for someone? It reminds me of the short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. In that story, Jim and Della are a penniless young couple who make sacrifices in order to buy each other gifts for Christmas. Della cuts and sells her beautiful hair in order to buy a watch chain for Jim’s beloved heirloom watch. Jim sells his watch in order to buy combs for Della’s beautiful hair. The fact that they each sacrificed something precious for the other person reveals the depths of their love. When we sacrifice what we want and act in obedience instead, that shows the depths of our love for God. It is this surrender that leads to holiness. Jesus gave us this example just hours before the cross.  At the Last Supper, He gave thanks for God’s provision in the midst of His suffering, even singing a hymn with His disciples (Luke 26:17-30). 
• Relinquish our words. The spoken word is powerful. The enemy can’t read your mind, but he can hear your praise. Psalm 145:4 says “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” As we speak aloud the great works of God in our lives, it encourages the next generation, but it also encourages our own spirit. As you relinquish your words– Pray! Pray! Pray! Ask God to grow you. If you know you struggle with impatience or a complaining spirit, take it to God. Ask Him to change you. Take every painful circumstance to God like a child offering up a boo-boo to a trusted parent, knowing it will hurt when the wound is cleansed but that it is necessary for healing to occur. Offer up your wounds to God. He will make it a beautiful scar that shows how He touched your life. The scars remind us of the splendor of that special intimacy of clinging to Him through our pain. It’s not about denying your pain but seeking God through your pain. 
• Relinquish our worship. When we experience a tragedy, we sometimes have expectations of a certain resolution. Do we only worship when God gives us what we want? Daniel affirmed in Daniel 3:17, “If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us…but even if He does not…we will not serve your gods.” Daniel was set upon worshiping God no matter what the outcome, even if God did not answer his prayers the way he desired. In 2 Samuel 12:13-23, David fasted, prayed, and pleaded with God to save the life of his child. When the child died, David “went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.” We can worship even as we grieve. David didn’t worship because he felt like it. He worshiped because God is worthy of our praise.

Our actions leave an impact on the lives of others. Psalm 116:17, 18 states, “I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” When we live in thankful obedience in the presence of others, our faith impacts others. I want to share with you the stories of some people who did just that. The next few posts are personal accounts written by some of my friends about what it is like to be thankful when it is hard. Be prepared to have your life impacted!