Giving Thanks

If anyone had a reason to not be thankful it was them.  They had just been conquered by a foreign army, despite being the children of God.  Their city lay in ruins.  Their kings and leaders were removed. The people where starving in the streets with no food to mock.  Their enemies mocked them, and their friends and allies abandoned them.  It had become so bad that the people in Jerusalem somberly stated in Lamentations 2:5, “The Lord is Like an enemy.”  Basically they were saying, “God, why is this going on?  Where are you at?”

You would think that if there was anyone who would have a hard time giving thanks it would be these people.   Their city destroyed, their nation in shambles, their lives turned upside down.  Yet they stated in Lamentations 3:21-25, “Therefore I have hope; because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.  I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion.'”

In this midst of tragedy these people realized that they had at least one thing to be thankful for, and that was that God was there for them.

This past Thanksgiving you may have struggled to come up with something to be thankful for.  Maybe you lost someone dear to you this year.  Maybe you or a loved one is facing a major medical issue.  Maybe the stack of unpaid bills just gets taller and taller.  Whatever is going on in your life you have at least one reason to be thankful, and that is that God is there for you.

The people of Jerusalem realized this.  Even in the midst of great tragedy they had at least one reason to be thankful.  And so do you.