The year 2024 has been one of my most challenging years as a pastor. It was a year filled with many trials and difficult moments, and as the calendar turned to 2025, my prayer and hope was for the year ahead to be better than the one behind. But during a time of prayer this week, I was reminded of a simple yet profound truth that we’re called to give thanks in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” That verse doesn’t say to give thanks for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. There’s a big difference, and as I pondered this truth, I realized something—I had allowed so much of last year to be consumed by the challenges I faced that I had failed to recognize the blessings God was pouring out along the way.
It’s so easy to let the hard times overshadow the good. We can become so focused on the darkness around us that we fail to see the beams of light that are peaking through. God is with us, and His light is always breaking through the cracks of our circumstances. In Psalm 119:105, it reminds us: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Even in the darkest seasons, God’s light is guiding us, if we choose to look for it.
I know a pastor who keeps a gratitude journal. Every day, no matter how hard or ordinary his day has been, he writes down three things he’s thankful for. This simple task has given him new perspective. His difficulties don’t disappear, but he now sees God’s hand in the midst of them. That’s what gratitude does—it reorients our hearts, helping us focus not on what’s wrong but on how God is still working.
As I was reflecting on this truth, I began to thank God for the blessings I had overlooked—relationships that have been strengthened in the midst of trials, moments of joy that broke through the heaviness, loving people who had supported me in the difficulties and God’s faithfulness that has never wavered. And the same is true for all of us. We may not be able to change our circumstances immediately, but we can change how we respond to them.
Gratitude invites God into our present moment, allowing His hope and strength to sustain us. It reminds us that even when life feels heavy, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). So, as we step into this new year, let’s not just hope for better days. Let’s choose to be people who give thanks in every circumstance. Let’s turn our eyes toward Jesus, trusting that God is with us in the present and will lead us to brighter days. May gratitude shape our hearts, deepen our faith, and remind us that God is our unshakable hope—yesterday, today, and forever.
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