Thankfulness in Hardship

​It is a lovely idea - dedicating one day a year to the practice of gratitude, of designating an occasion for the purpose of pausing and reflecting on the comforts and relationships we normally take for granted. Approaching life from a perspective of gratitude is not just proven to be good for one's health and happiness, it is also commanded by the Bible: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18


Perhaps you have such an abundance of blessings, they cannot be enumerated. Reflecting on the everyday gifts that are easily taken for granted - food, home, health, friends and family - is a worthwhile practice. But what if you are in a season of life where blessings seem scarce or nonexistent? What if you are experiencing blinding pain that makes the blessings hard to discern or impossible to enjoy? A posture of gratitude is still commanded, but the idea of giving thanks can seem impossible. The command for gratitude may even seem like a dark joke at our expense.


In any circumstance, we have the promise that beyond this world there waits an eternal life with peace beyond all understanding for all who call on the Lord Jesus. But we can still have hope in this broken world, even when circumstances seem unbearably bleak. This point is beautifully supported in the book Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting. Its author is Katherine Wolf, a self-described "wholesome Southern Belle" from Georgia. As a young adult, she was reveling in her seemingly perfect life, enjoying a fledgling modeling and acting career, with a full social life and young family, when a completely unexpected stroke left her suddenly numbered among the severely disabled. Wolf became partially paralyzed and spent years unable to eat or talk. During the long period of mental and physical anguish that followed her stroke, she leaned hard into her Christian faith, determined to glean purpose and meaning from her tragically dashed hopes and altered circumstances. She has created a new life as an advocate for the disabled, and among many other endeavors, she along with her husband founded the Hope Heals camp for the disabled which is based in Atlanta.


Wolf offers not throw-pillow platitudes, but profound insights in her gem of a book.

I met death and was laid in my own tomb of sorts...In a pale, slow-motion shadow of Jesus' resurrection, I eventually rose into a second-chance life of my own. My victory over death looked less like a rolled-away stone and more like being rolled away in a wheelchair. But I survived, and am surviving, in the present tense. And now, on this side of near-death, I understand that the most important part of resurrection is that it's happening here and now... It's happening to all of us, if we choose to recognize it.

She goes so far as to even embrace what she dubs her "hard/good" life path. "What if none of this is an accident? What if God chose me for this? What if I start living like this is exactly the life I would have chosen?"  Wolf identifies blessings that were only realized because of her suffering. "As strange as it felt to acknowledge, I really do like who I have become since my stroke. And because of my stroke. God used the worst experience of my life to develop the best parts of who I am today...I think I feel sorry for the hypothetical version of Katherine who never had a stroke... If my life had been less challenging, I don't think my spirit would have had the opportunity to grow in resilience and trust and humility." 

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When I read these words, I was immediately reminded of a poem I first read in my childhood, attributed to an unknown Confederate soldier:

I asked for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things. 

I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise. 

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. 

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things. 

I got nothing that I had asked for,
but everything that I had hoped for. 

Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered,
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Suffering is real, and that should not be diminished and its impact cannot be dismissed with platitudes about "counting your blessings." But we know it is true that Jesus Christ knew immense suffering during his time in the flesh, and we are not greater than our Master. Also, Romans 8:28 teaches that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." This is a challenging truth to embrace during times of intense pain and darkness. But people greater than you or I have endured suffering, and in some cases we can see with hindsight how God used it for an amazing purpose. I pray that you are feeling content and blessed this Thanksgiving holiday. But if not, may God grant you the wisdom and courage to be thankful in spite of, or even because of, your difficulties.