O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1

Well, our special American holiday, Thanksgiving, is not far away. I expect for most families there will be a special meal. Many will have the traditional roast turkey and pumpkin pie. But things will not be normal. There is a pandemic, you know . Some families will tragically have empty chairs at their table. Some of those empty chairs represent loved ones taken by the deadly pestilence. Others are where family members who cannot come to Thanksgiving dinner for fear of catching or spreading that awful disease, would normally sit.

These things are sorrowful and saddening. They are distressing and hard. For many, no matter how good Thanksgiving dinner is, it will be covered by a hovering gloom.

Is it possible to give God thanks in such a state as this? Can you praise God when danger is all around?

Well, being thankful to God is a matter of faith, so that if one believes in God there’s always something to be thankful for. And, if nothing else, it is the hopeful expectation of God’s doing a new and blessed thing in days ahead.

Contemplating the destruction of the beloved city of his people, Jerusalem, Jeremiah, moved by his faith in God, in the midst of personal and national sorrow, says: It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him (Lamentations 3:22-24).

Jeremiah got it. Even in the worst of times, if you trust God, the LORD is your portion and you can hope in Him. You can trust God because He sent his son, Jesus. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. The Holy Spirit brings Jesus’ life into our lives. Yes, you can hope in God.

Thank you, O LORD!