READ: PSALM 100:1-5; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:18

We’re called to give thanks to God at all times. But how? When I was thirteen, I had to wrestle with that question.

Things weren’t going well for me, and I was depressed. My parents were divorced. My mom got remarried to a man I had trouble getting along with. Then, when my mom lost her job, we lost our house and car. We ended up having to move to a cheap apartment in another town, so I had to leave my hometown and all my friends behind. And, with no car, we had to walk everywhere we went. All I could think about was how bad my life was.

One Sunday, a member from our former church came and picked us up for church so we could visit the people we had to leave behind when we moved. It was a treat to see my church friends!

During the worship service, we sang a song about giving thanks. I remember grumbling in my head, I don’t have anything to give thanks about. Then I looked down at the floor. When I did, I saw my shoes.

That got me thinking: I could be thankful because God had provided the shoes on my feet. So I began by thanking God for them, and then I began thinking of more and more things I could thank Him for. That moment, my focus changed from thinking about how bad my life was to how much I had to be thankful for. My life situation didn’t immediately improve, but my perspective did.

Even when we suffer, we can always remember the promises of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus came here, experienced our suffering, died for our sins, and beat death’s power by rising again. We can go to Him with our hurts, and He will remind us of all we have in Him. • Melissa Yeagle

• What are some hard situations in your life right now?

• What can you thank God for, even now?

• Consider taking a moment to pray, telling God about the hard things you’ve been going through and also thanking Him for the ways He has been providing for you.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 (NIV)