It’s easy to thank God for a birthday party. It’s a lot harder when the game gets rained out, or your best friend moves away, or your name isn’t on the list.

But look what happened the night before Jesus died. He gathered His disciples for the Passover meal, and the Bible says, “He took the cup, and gave thanks.” Giving thanks at a meal was totally normal. What that cup stood for was not normal. Jesus said it stood for His own blood, poured out so people could be forgiven.

Read that again. Jesus gave thanks for the hardest thing anybody has ever faced. And He did it before it happened. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote, “In everything give thanks.” Not “in some things.” Not “in the fun things.” Everything!

Now, that doesn’t mean pretending hard things are secretly awesome. You don’t have to say, “Yay, my grandpa is sick!” That’s not honesty, and God wants still wants you to be honest. It means finding what you can be thankful for right in the middle of the hard thing. God is still good. He’s still with you. He still has a plan. That’s true on your worst day and your best one.

And here’s something interesting...Paul wrote “give thanks” as a command, not a suggestion. It’s not a bonus or a suggestion only for extra-cheerful people! It’s for everyone—including you!

Think About It: Think of one thing in your life you’d never put on a thank-you list. Something disappointing or just plain hard. You don’t have to be thankful for the hard thing itself. But can you find one thing to thank God for inside it? A person who’s stuck by you? Something you’ve learned? Say that thank-you out loud today.