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“…in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

-Philippians 4:6

Being thankful to God for His faithfulness and provision does not mean that we have to gloss over the reality of our present struggle.

It is no contradiction when we cry out to the Lord with frustration over our circumstances in one sentence and then give Him thanks in the next. The psalmists teach us that this is perfectly acceptable. This is worship in the real world.

Thankfulness does not require us to pretend that everything is okay when everything is not okay. Authentic gratitude is to admit that we have needs – deep, complicated needs – and then laying those needs before God with thankfulness, humility, and trust.

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

It’s okay to admit it if you are weary this Thanksgiving. Most of us are. For everyone except God, these circumstances have been off the map. As we approach the Lord, let’s remember that thankfulness can coexist with disappointment and dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Will you join me in prayer?

Dear God, today we admit that we are both weary and thankful. Our bodies and our spirits are tired from the turning and churning of events this year. We don’t even have words for it. Yet, we come to you with gratitude, knowing that You are with us in the midst of the mess and Your grace continues to flow. We trust that you are refining us through these fiery trials. We turn to you now and ask for a heaping measure of mercy and grace for our families, our churches, our communities, and our nation. In Jesus’ name, we gladly present ourselves to You. We are weary, yet thankful. Amen.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.