What If I Don’t Feel Thankful?  By Sara Cain.

The problem with having a holiday to celebrate being grateful is that it often comes during difficult times when we struggle to feel thankful.  Some people are asking, “How can I be thankful now?”  How do we enter into sincere thanksgiving when our heart is broken or  overwhelmed?

This is shaping up to be a hard season for so many people I love.  We have buried too many loved ones and are walking through the valley of the shadow of death with yet others. The future according to our limited human vision looks daunting. And yet Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:18,

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Why does God instruct me to give thanks even in my most painful and terrifying times?

Paul answers this in Philippians 4:6-7-

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

A grateful heart allows the peace of God to guard our feelings and thoughts.

But God is worthy of our praise because of Who He Is, not just because He gives us good stuff. Just being God qualifies Him to receive our praise and thanksgiving.

Thankfulness grows out of humility, recognizing that all we are, and all we have, are gifts from God: our existence, the universe we live in, every good thing we enjoy, and most importantly, the gift of Jesus and our salvation.  When we recognize that these are gifts and not something we are entitled to, the natural response is gratitude.

Living with a thankful heart in all circumstances heals our wounds and refines our character to more closely mirror the character of Jesus.

A humble heart posture of gratitude and thanksgiving creates an atmosphere that is not compatible with bitterness, fear, anxiety, and a thousand other negative feelings and attitudes that emotionally imprison us and make us physically ill. 

Counting our blessings is good for us, body, soul and spirit. It reminds us not only of what we have, but also of what God has done for us in our own past.  These reminders release the stranglehold of negative feelings and attitudes in our heart and opens our heart and eyes to see and receive both the big and small blessings that God gives us day by day.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger to a friend.”  – Melody Beattie

When we cultivate a heart posture of gratitude and thanksgiving in all circumstances, we can better see and understand our life through God’s eyes.

God desires for us to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving.  As we deepen our relationship with Jesus, thankfulness will become as natural as breathing and become a lens through which we see ourselves and our world.

God doesn’t just leave us to figure out how to do this on our own.  First, if we have surrendered our heart to Jesus, we are filled with His Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us. Then our generous and gracious God follows up that amazing gift with thousands of promises, beginning with telling us this powerful statement from 2 Peter 1:3-4 (TPT):

God’s Generous Grace

“Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness. As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises you can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world.”

Like love, thankfulness is more than an emotion.  A thankful heart is an acknowledgement that LIFE is a Gift and it is Good, and because life is good, all the things that give us temporary agony are overshadowed by the overwhelming reality that God is good and therefore as His creation and beloved sons and daughters, our lives are worthy of being cherished and celebrated, regardless of whatever trial we are going through or circumstances of our life, or what we have lost.

And for this we are thankful.

God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises, lavishing His love on us, bathing us in His mercy, and gifting us with His presence is all the reason we need to be thankful, even though He gives us so much more!

Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

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If Thanksgiving feels hard for you this year, or if you just need some encouragement, soak in His presence by meditating on these key promises. As you read them, insert your own name into the scripture because He’s made these promises to you.

40 Key Promises of God

Promises of Salvation

1. God forgives sin. I John 1:9  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
2. God gives eternal life. Romans 6:23  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
3. God’s grace is sufficient. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
4. You are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
5. God will not allow anyone to take you from Him. John 10:27-28 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Promises of God’s Love and Faithfulness

6. God loves you deeply. Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor death, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
7. God is always faithful. Psalm 145:13 “The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does.”
8. God will never leave you. Hebrews 13:5b  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
9. God’s mercies are new every morning. Lamentations 3:222-23  “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
10. God delights in you. Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
11. God gives abundant life. John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Promises of Guidance

12. God will direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.”
13. God gives wisdom generously. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
14. God lights your way. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light to my path.
15. God teaches and counsels. Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
16. God will guide continually. Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.”

Promises of Provision

17. God will meet all your needs. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
18. God provides good things. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
19. God provides rest. Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
20. God provides strength. Philippians 4:13 “I can doo all this through him who gives me strength.
21. God supplies peace. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Promises of Peace

22. God gives peace that transcends understanding. Philippians 4:7 “And thee peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
23. God brings perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
24. God is your peace. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times an in every way.”
25. God will crush satan under your feet. Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush satan under your feet.”

Promises of Protection

26. God is your refuge. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
27. God will fight for you. Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” [be still – stop striving, let go, and let God …]
28. God protects you from harm. Psalm 121:7 “The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life.”
29. God gives you victory. I Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
30. God is with you in trouble. Psalm 91:15 “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

Promises for Strength

31. God renews your strength. Isaiah 40:31  “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.”
32. God is your strength and shield. Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”
33. God gives strength to the weary. Isaiah 40:29  “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
34. God’s power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfiect in weakness.”

Promises of God’s faithfulness

35. God’s plans for you are good. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
36. God is your helper. Hebrews 13:6 “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals to me?”
37. God will never fail you. Deuteronomy 20:4 “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you … to give you victory.”
38. God works all things for good. Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.
39. God keeps His promises. Psalm 145:13 “The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made”
40. Jesus is coming again to take you to be with Him. John 14:2-3 “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

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This list of promises was originally written by Mike Hurt and published by Parkway Church in February 2025, although I did make a few substitutions to better support my message.