By Kathryn Davenport
“The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” -Elizabeth Elliot
I was really sick. Feverish, sore throat, headache, the whole thing. But I have three children. I had no option but to keep tending to them. And of course, my baby decided that was a perfect week to have a sleep regression. Tired, sick, and miserable, but still having to get up to make their lunch, I felt that I had every right to grumble.
But grumbling is no more an attractive quality in a child of God than it is in my own two year old. I knew I needed to give thanks in all things, I just didn’t want to. I wanted to feel sorry for myself.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
(I Thess. 5:16-18 italics added for emphasis)
This is the part I get tripped up on. I know the Bible tells me to give thanks in everything, but what does that actually look like? I think Elizabeth Elliot found the answer.
Giving thanks in all things looks like a quiet heart. It looks like contentment. It looks like resting in the knowledge that Christ has already given me all I need for life and flourishing.
Therefore, what need have I to worry or complain? The mark of a child of God is one who refuses to engage in grumbling and chooses thankfulness instead. For indeed, thankfulness, like love, is a choice. It is an action, not a feeling. It is the overflow of a heart postured toward trust in God.
As I stood at my kitchen counter, I took a deep breath and began to list out loud the things around me I could be thankful for, even in the midst of illness.
“I am thankful for a warm house in which to rest when I’m sick.”
”I am thankful I have food to prepare for my family.”
”I am thankful that this world, filled with disease and exhaustion, is not my home.”
”I am thankful for salvation.”
”I am thankful for Jesus.”
Even if I only had salvation, I would still have all that I need. Indeed, that is more than I deserve. What other reason do I need to be thankful?
Trials will come. You and I will feel grief, defeat, loneliness, betrayal, sickness, and exhaustion. In those moments, bring it all to the Lord. In the midst of sorrow, offer your thankfulness as a sacrifice of praise.
If I truly trust the Lord as I say I do, then I can rest in the knowledge that everything I experience in this life is held in His hands. If I believe that, I can be content in all things. “ . . . For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:” (Phil. 4:11) And if I am content in all things, I can be thankful in all things. Thankfulness and contentment go hand in hand.
A life hidden in Christ is free to be thankful in all things. So I can stop fretting over whether I’m “thankful enough.” The key is abiding in Christ. And as I do that, a life of thankfulness follows.
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Written by: Kathryn Davenport
Instagram: @thepastorskid12
Author bio: Kathryn grew up as a pastor’s kid, so she naturally developed a love for spiritual study and writing. Kathryn lives in Texas and is a stay-at-home mama of a growing family. She is a devoted follower of Jesus and is passionate about family, truth, the church, worship, and impacting the culture around her.
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