Giving Thanks for Trials

In this season leading up to Thanksgiving I have often tried to focus more on having a grateful heart and thanking God for things that I often take for granted. That practice is a helpful perspective shift and helps me to experience more of the joy God has for me. In my classroom this year, my students have been working on a thankfulness list and have now listed hundreds of things for which they are thankful. While this practice of thankfulness for God's good gifts has helped me grow, I have recently been asking God to help me be thankful for the good work He is doing even when the situation is not good.

It is much easier for me to have this perspective after a trial is over. So that is where I will begin. Baby steps. As I look back on my life, I see how God has often used some of the most challenging times to grow me and equip me for ministering to others. My love for working with middle and high school students is largely because of the many challenges I experienced during that season of life. My struggles with depression, anxiety, and body image issues have given me a better perspective with which to encourage and serve my students. I am often reminded of 2 Corinthians 1:3&4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who  are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

While I am thankful for this truth, that God uses our struggles to equip us to love and serve others who are struggling, I also see how God has used the challenging times to grow me. I am reminded of James chapter 1.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Every time I read this verse I think how bizarre it sounds. Who really counts it all joy when they meet trials? Do you know really someone like that? Most of us get annoyed, discouraged, frustrated, disappointed, angry or depressed when we experience trials. That certainly is my natural tendency. But I can see how God has used some trials in my life to grow me. I can look back at the time of uncertainty with my tongue and the possibility of cancer and see how that gave me a more eternal perspective on life. I can look at some of the everyday challenges of life in a developing country and see how God is using those to develop in me perseverance and patience.

I can also see how my children grow these everyday struggles. One of my favorite moments was when we had been in Uganda for a couple of years and we coming home late from town, Everyone was tired and we realized we were locked out of our house. Elijah pointed out that we could enjoy the beautiful stars and make the most of the moment. He also pointed out that before he moved oversees, he would have likely been frustrated at having to wait to find a way into the house. It was a little thing, but a way that God reminded me that He does uses trials to help us grow.

None of this means that trials are fun, or easy or that we can't grieve. But it does mean, that I am clinging to God's promise that He is working to grow me in the midst of these trials, and He will use them for good. So on this day before American Thanksgiving, I am thanking God for our broken down van. I trust that there is a good reason God has allowed this minor setback. I am thanking God that He has a good purpose for the delays in the adoption process. I thank God that he is using the challenges and conflicts of everyday life to produce in us steadfastness and maturity. Lord, teach me to "give thanks in all circumstances" (I Thes. 5:18) because I know you are good, and are working for my good.