Always be joyful, always keep on praying, always be thankful no matter what happens, for that is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not smother the Holy Spirit. (I Thessalonians 5:16-19 -TLNT)

“Say what?” “Be joyful, be thankful no matter what happens?” “But, you just don’t understand what my family has been through this year,” many of you may be shouting.

• My spouse died this year.
• We moved to another state and my kids were treated unmercifully as the new kid in school.
• My children had to go through the divorce proceedings with my husband and me.
• Our home is in foreclosure.

And the list could go on and on about the losses that you and your family might have had to face this year. And yet, in the midst of this, the Bible says “always be joyful, and thankful no matter what happens, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus?”

I don’t know about you, but that verse used to be very confusing to me. My thinking was: “how can I give thanks in the midst of what I am experiencing?” “Is this circumstance in my life God’s will?”

Eventually after much struggling, I came to a place that gave me peace and an understanding. May I share with you my thoughts on each verse. Perhaps it will help you during this Thanksgiving season.

(vs 16) Always be joyful — Happiness is an emotion: Joy is a state of mind. You might say that joy is everlasting and not dependent upon circumstances, while happiness looks at the external circumstances.

(vs 17) Always keep on praying — Work schedules, etc. sometimes prevents the “down on your knees all day praying,” as we sometimes think that always praying means. But, throughout the day, just a whisper of the name “Jesus” while not on bended knees, is praying.

(vs 18) Always be thankful no matter what happens, for that is “God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus — Does this mean that it is God’s will that you experienced hurts and losses in your life? Absolutely not! God is not the thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy. What this verse is saying is that it is God’s will that we praise Him in the midst of what happens.

(vs 19) Do not smother (quench) the Holy Spirit — And that’s where it all meets up together. As we praise God in the midst of what happens to us, we quench not the Holy Spirit’s working in the situation to bring us peace and comfort, no matter what has happened.

To those of you who have experienced a loss of any kind this year, holidays can be a very hard time. My prayer for you is that the God of peace will, indeed, bring comfort to you during this holiday season. As you gather with family and friends, may they surround you with love and an abundance of hugs.

To give us all a head start on being thankful, I asked my three grandchildren to tell me things for which they are thankful.

Hannah — 10 years old

“I am thankful to live in an area where I can go to church, and to have friends who serve the Lord.”

Zach — 6 years old

“I am thankful for good family and friends and toys.”

Hadley — 3 years old

“I thankful for my mommy and daddy, my house, and my toys.”

One of the things my whole family is thankful for this year is our new arrival expected in just a few days — Hope Isabelle Frierson. I can’t help but shed a tear when I see the picture of Hadley hugging her yet-to-be-born sister.

An attitude of thankfulness just doesn’t get any better than that.

 From our family to yours — May you have a blessed Thanksgiving Season.