1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV) 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Psalm 100 Be Thankful A psalm of thanksgiving. 1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His — His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations. Psalms 105:1-2 (HCSB) 1 Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works! Psalms 106:1 (HCSB) 1 Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever. How do we give thanks to the Lord when we are hurting?  How do we give thanks to the Lord when we feel as though our world is falling apart?  How do we give thanks to the Lord in the midst of grief and pain? What do we do when it hurts so bad that our insides feel as though they will burst from our bodies?  What do we do when the grief is so intense that we can feel nothing at all? We thank God for Who He Is and Who He Always Will Be.  The Character of God never changes.  In the midst of your grief and sorrow, He is still the same.  In the midst of your agonizing pain and questions, He is still the same.  He never changes.  We can praise Him for His unchanging Ways. There is a secret to being able to praise God in the midst of trials and tribulations.  The secret is that we do not wait until the trying times to develop what one preacher (my husband) has termed “An Attitude of Gratitude.”  Five keys to cultivating an attitude of gratitude that will sustain us through the storms of our lives: Focus on Thanksgiving Passages in Scripture. Psalm 100 II Corinthians 9:15 Romans 8:35-39 Philippians 1:3 Study the lives of Biblical Believers who lived out an attitude of gratitude. David Paul Joseph Meditate on the things for which you have to be thankful. I Timothy 1:12-17   Practice sharing with others the things that God is doing in your life. Acts 16:24   Practice the attitude of gratitude in your prayer life.   Focus on Thanksgiving Passages in Scripture. Psalm 100 is listed above. 2 Corinthians 9:15 (HCSB) 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. What is God’s indescribable gift?  Jesus Christ and the salvation that He brought to mankind. Romans 8:35-39 (HCSB) 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!  What an awesome promise for which to be thankful.  Even in the midst of tribulation, Jesus is right there beside us.  He carries us through the valley.  He is always there, even unto the end of the world.  He is the Good Shepherd; He will not abandon His sheep. Philippians 1:3-5 (HCSB) 3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, 4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. We can be thankful for those Believers who are always there with us in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.  They work with us; pray with and for us; they are an inspiration by their perseverance and their Godly attitudes.  Thank You, Jesus, for other Believers, for the family of God. Study the lives of Biblical Believers who lived out an attitude of gratitude. In the midst of being hunted to be killed, David praised his God.  From prison, Paul wrote that we should be content in every circumstance.  After being beaten and imprisoned, the disciples praised God.  Joseph, sold into slavery and thinking he would never again see his family, lived such a life as to receive promotion after promotion. Studying the lives of these and others is motivational.  We learn from them how to continue to be thankful in the midst of persecution and tribulation. Meditate on the things for which you have to be thankful. Paul stayed focused on Jesus and the many blessings with which he had been blessed.  Stay focused on what is pure and lovely (Philippians 4). Even in the midst of our darkest hour, there is always something for which to be thankful.  Corrie Ten Boom and her sister – from a Nazi prison camp – found much for which to be thankful.  Our Brothers and Sisters who are being persecuted in foreign countries constantly give testimony to how grateful they are for the opportunity to suffer as the Lord Jesus Christ. Practice sharing with others the things that God is doing in your life. Acts 16:25 (HCSB) 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. They shared with their feet in stocks, and after having been beaten.  What keeps you from sharing what the Lord is doing in your life? Lastly, practice an attitude of gratitude in your prayer life.  So many times we approach the Lord with a list – sort of like a list for Santa Clause.  We forget to thank Him for His wonderful benefits.  Pray Scripture!  Use the Scriptures listed above.  Pray the 103rd Psalm.  There are many more. We must learn to be grateful in the good times so that we can be grateful in the hard times. Maybe you are going through a particularly hard time right now.  Maybe this is the first Thanksgiving without a loved one.  Maybe you’ve lost your job this Thanksgiving.  Maybe you or someone you care about is experiencing grave illness.  Maybe you’ve just experienced a disappointment that is bigger than you think you can handle.  Whatever your circumstance, praise God.  Maybe you can’t praise Him for what you are going through, but you can find something in your life for which to be thankful. Disappointment.  Death.  Financial hardship.  Physical illness.  Mental and emotional anguish.  Your Savior experienced them all.  He knows.  He understands.  He is pleading for you at this very moment.  Don’t give up! Praise Him!  Praise Him for Who He Is!  He never changes.