Thanksgiving – Breathe. Pray. Repeat.

The God Who Hears Me: Thoughts on Thanksgiving

2023 isn’t over yet, but around Thanksgiving, I begin to reflect on the year – the ups, the downs, the good, and the bad. This year’s been a mixed bag for me, honestly. I’ve had a lot of wonderful times with people I love, and God has shown me things and blessed me in ways I never expected. And yet it’s as though every good moment has been countered with a tough and challenging setback.

You can get to the point where it becomes hard to feel genuinely thankful even in spite of the obvious blessings you know you still have and are thankful for. Weariness can do that to you. Burnout and being stretched thin can take the passion out of your spirit. And you find yourself just wanting to lie down instead of taking care of the million other things on your to-do list or instead of having to actually think about the issues that you’re facing.

I’m sure we can all say we’ve been there. Many wise people will remind us that when we place each anxiety-inducing situation into God’s hands and trust Him with it, then we’ll have peace, and things will be okay. And that’s absolutely true. I’ve reminded myself and others of that before as well. God will work things out in His timing. He takes care of His children.

But we’re all human, after all, and those problems often don’t immediately go away even when we say we’re trusting God with them. Sometimes they still eat away at you. Sometimes they still haunt you, and even when you think you’ve surrendered it, they plague your mind and drag you back into the mud. And there you are – covered in the grime of frustration, weariness, and anxiety once again.

I could go on and on about the ways stress and frustrating times make us feel, but I digress. How can one find a way to feel thankful in the midst of trying times? I’ve been thinking about this, and God reminded me of something so simple, but so good.

Two things came into my spirit: the God who hears me and the Lord my Sustainer.

All of the conversations I’ve had with God about what I’ve been facing this year, every question I’ve asked Him, every prayer I’ve prayed, every moment where I’ve just rambled about a dozen different frustrations, every single word and prayer and cry has not gone unheard. While I sat and wondered about how to write a post about thankfulness that didn’t feel generic, God simply reminded me of this.

He has heard you. He’s listening. He’s there.

“In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came before him, even into his ears.”
Psalm 18:6 KJV

In every low moment, God heard me, and He hears you. In every moment when I wasn’t sure how I would make it, God sustained me.

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:3 KJV

Sometimes in life there are those situations that just won’t go away, but the Lord will sustain you. You’re not strong, but He is. You can’t do this, but He can. And with His grace and mercy He will give you the strength to endure.

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 KJV

I’m reminded of the word God spoke through Reverend Victor Jackson at the UPCI General Conference in 2019 – the Forgotten Anointing. It’s endurance. Jesus saw those who followed Him were weary, and He was moved with compassion.

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”
Matthew 9:36 KJV

If you’re going through a rough season this Thanksgiving, and your thanksgiving spirit feels a little stale, it’s OKAY. You’re human, and real life presents real problems. It’s normal to become weary and tired, but thank God for His compassion on us and that He sent His Spirit to dwell within us and bring us comfort and strength.

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
John 14:18 KJV

Maybe you’re still dealing with the same situation that you’ve been facing all year. Maybe it’s a years-long situation. Maybe you’re struggling with feeling truly thankful, and you’re weary of the same issues day in, day out. You cannot and will make it not by your own strength, but you WILL make it by the power of the Sustainer, by the mercy of the Comforter.

Let God sustain you. Pray His Word out loud, and let His Spirit strengthen yours. He hears your every cry. And let this truth reignite your thanksgiving this holiday season: Jesus is the God who hears us. He is the Lord our Sustainer.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 KJV

How to Be Thankful in Seasons of Loss, Pain, and Waiting

Being thankful isn’t always easy.

Most of us have lost loved ones or lost relationships once very valuable to us. Many have suffered financial hardship or emotional or physical pain. And there are those who are in a season of waiting for an answered prayer or who may be going through a spiritual valley. It’s hard to feel thankful sometimes when everything seems to be falling apart. When our thoughts and feelings dwell on our circumstances and on what seems impossible, we can lose a spirit of thankfulness. So, how do we maintain it or get it back?

Praise.

What is thanksgiving, after all? It is the expression of gratitude and showing appreciation. And what is praise? Showing admiration or great approval. When we offer praise to God, we tend to move into a spirit of thanksgiving. We praise Him for what He’s done. We praise Him for who He is. Praise and worship are the keys to maintaining a spirit of thanksgiving.

Job lost everything but still declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15a KJV). Job’s children were killed, and yet he could still bless the name of the Lord (see Job 1). In his season of loss, Job recognized the sovereignty of God.

When you focus on who God is instead of your circumstances, you will find that praise comes naturally. How can we not praise God for all He’s done, for who He is? Because no matter what we may go through, nothing changes that He is worthy, that He is faithful, that He loves us, and that He is good.

Our circumstances change; He does not. He remains.

There have been moments in my life in which I lost so much. Perhaps like many of you, I’ve lost loved ones and relationships. And I’ve dealt with anger, hurt, sadness, loneliness, and all the various emotions that accompany seasons of grief, depression, and waiting. The words “just be thankful for what you have” are not easy to hear or adapt to your life when you can hardly get out of bed in the morning and when grief muddles your thoughts and leaves you feeling sicker by the day. But as someone who’s gone through some of those seasons, I promise you that turning your focus from what you’re going through to who God is will bring some joy back into your life. It will allow you to feel more thankful because you’re no longer putting your focus on the natural but on the supernatural. You’re no longer putting your focus on the impossible but on the one who makes things possible.

And God is always a good God, no matter how trying times become. He’s never left me, and He never will.

I recently came across a song (linked here) that speaks so much to experiences I’ve had, and it demonstrates the faithfulness of God. Just look at the verses below:

“I have seen a lot of things, and I’ve been a lot of places. I’ve seen people come and go. I’ve been through a lot of changes. One thing I can always say, You’ve been here every step of the way. I have heard a lot said and sometimes believed the wrong things. I’ve made choices I regret, and I’ve doubted Your mercy. One thing I can always say, You’ve been here every step of the way. After all these years, You’re still good to me.”

After everything I’ve been through, God is still with me. After the things we’ve all endured these past few years, God is still present with us. When we remind ourselves of how good He is every day, we can maintain a spirit of praise and thanksgiving even through hard times.

The circumstances in your life may seem to grow worse or more complicated year after year, but hold to the promises in His Word. He will never leave us, He will never fail, He works all things for our good, His promises are “yes” and “amen,” He will provide for all our needs, and His mercies are new every morning.

We have much to be thankful for.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalms 100:4-5 KJV

A Thank-You Note to My Readers

Dear BPR readers,

Today’s post is simple. I want to thank you all for keeping up with and reading Breathe Pray Repeat this year. As my schedule has changed, I’ve changed up how often I release posts from twice a week to once a week to once every two weeks, but I truly appreciate every one of you who has kept up with these posts and stuck around even when BPR went on a brief hiatus.

To put it simply, for real, y’all are THE best!

I’ve dubbed BPR as the little blog that could because although BPR is a little blog with a small following, it still CAN glorify God and encourage others. It doesn’t matter if what you can do for God and others is small, if you have the ability and desire, then do your best, give it to God, and give Him the glory. He gave His life for us and died for our sins, so the least we can do is give what we have to Him. The least we can do each day is say “thank you” to the One who loves us no matter how many times we’ve messed up.

As my Pastor preached yesterday, Thanksgiving is a day we should reflect on 3 things for which we should be thankful:

God’s grace
God’s goodness
God’s guidance

Grace is something we cannot earn but is a gift from God. Because of His goodness, we receive grace and forgiveness for our sins. Because of His goodness, we are still alive, given another day to worship and live for Him. And because of His guidance, we can walk down the right path.

I don’t know about you, but I am particularly thankful to God for every time He’s shown me grace and goodness and has guided me when I’ve made a mistake. He is the road that takes us back to the path of righteousness. No matter what we may do or say, God doesn’t give us what we deserve but gives us what we don’t deserve – another chance and unending love and mercy.

I hope you all have a wonderful celebration with friends and family this week. There will be no blog post this Friday, and the next post will drop on the 10th of December.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Caitlin