Grateful in all seasons

“What to Do When You Don’t Feel Thankful” – that was a sermon preached by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. In that sermon, he said, “Thanks should never cease because blessings
never cease.”
With those simple yet profound words, Rogers expressed the kind of gratitude Christians owe God and have sought to render to Him since the early days of the church.
In America, gratitude is a shared cultural value. Thanksgiving traditions accommodate the religious and non-religious alike, allowing for a general sense of gratitude for good weather, good health, and
good food. But where is that same level of thanks-giving God deserves during periods of drought, sickness, and hardship? Has God ceased to be good in those times?
It is in these very seasons of life that the Christian understanding of thankfulness distinguishes itself from that of the world and reflects more of what Rogers described.

The internal pivot
“Our hearts swivel or turn or pivot on whether or not we will thank God in all circumstances,” Sam Crabtree told The Stand Radio in a 2024 interview. Crabtree is the pastor for care at The North Church in Mounds View, Minnesota, and author of Practicing Thankfulness: Cultivating a Grateful Heart in All Circumstances.
He added, “We believe texts like Romans 8:28, [which says] ‘God works all things together for the good of those who love Him;’ however we don’t thank Him like we believe it.”
Crabtree sees a correlation between what it means to honor God and to give Him thanks. He cites the apostle Paul’s writing in Romans 1:21 to illustrate that point: “[Paul] said, ‘For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him.’ And that word or in there doesn’t mean two different things, like you can honor God or you can give thanks to Him. Rather … he’s defining what it means to honor God. ‘They did not honor Him as God,’ meaning giving thanks to Him.”
According to Crabtree, the people Paul had in mind understood God’s divine nature and benevolence but chose not to honor Him or give thanks, resulting in futile thinking and darkened hearts.
“I have watched people who were … moving forward in their sanctification, and some tragedy happened … that was very painful,” Crabtree said. “They did not find themselves able to thank God in it or for it, and they became hardened toward Him and bitter. … If we don’t really believe God is working all things together for our good, we won’t thank Him. In fact, we can’t thank Him.”

The eternal work
For Crabtree, belief in the goodness of God brings a sense of security to the Christian, so adversity is understood as part of God’s work of transformation.
He explained that although we may question what “good” God is doing, that answer is found in Romans 8:29, which says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”
Crabtree said, “That’s where God’s going in every circumstance of our life and every adversity. God does not waste one shred of the adversity that comes into our lives,” he continued, “but He uses it to conform us to the image of Jesus and
to develop in us, by the power of His Spirit, the character of His Son.”
At its most fundamental level, Christian thankfulness is based on one’s personal relationship with the living God, which does not depend on any material blessing that might be enjoyed. That relationship itself should bring a profound sense of gratitude.
In the book Bless the Lord, O My Soul!: A Guide to Life, Living, and Thanksgiving in Psalm 103, Perry C. Brown highlights the importance of prioritizing this relationship as King David did in his expression of thanks to God. In this psalm of praise, David looks past the blessings of deliverance, kingship, and wealth to emphasize the greatest benefit – the assurance that God has forgiven his sins.
“That is exactly where David starts, because he understands that’s the foundation for our relationship with God,” Brown told The Stand Radio in a 2026 interview. “And it’s only as that foundation remains firm and remains uppermost in our minds, then we can begin building – upon that – all the other blessings He has poured into our lives.”

The external witness
Crabtree stated, “When we point to God as the source of these good things, people are given pause to stop and think if God is indeed the source of those good things.” He added, “And whether they will resonate with thanksgiving or they’re just given pause, still I think there’s a deposit we are making in their minds, in their hearts, that’s just being faithful to the truth of what is.”
“God readily accepts the praise and thanksgiving of all who will give it to Him,” Brown agreed. “But it’s especially poignant when those who should thank Him – don’t.”
Referring to the account of 10 lepers being healed by Jesus in Luke 17, Brown recalled that only one of them, a Samaritan, returned to worship and give thanks.
“And that’s the purpose of that story,” he explained, “to talk about how many people will receive a blessing from God, and turn away and rejoice in their blessing without ever going back to the source.
“A part of daily worship is reminding ourselves not only of the blessings that we have – what we can enjoy physically and emotionally [and] spiritually – but also the source of them,” Brown continued. “[We must go] back and thank the Source, our Lord, for all that we have and for all that we are.”

The initial steps
It is not hard to identify the reasons Christians too easily set aside the knowledge of God and
His blessings.
“We’re so distracted,” Brown admitted. “My phone, my computer, a constant stream of ads on TV and radio, billboards that I see – they’re all trying to draw me away … to another reality. … It really becomes a discipline … to refocus myself again on the Lord.”
Brown referenced Bible commentator Allen P. Ross’ definition of forgetfulness based on Psalm 103: “It’s not just a matter of a slip of the mind, but it’s an intentional laying aside and ignoring God’s truths and God’s blessings.”
For Christians who recognize their forgetfulness and realize that they are stuck on life’s difficulties and not as thankful as they should be, Crabtree offers encouragement.
“A first step [to take] would be to admit it,” he said. “A second step is to ask God for help: ‘God, help me. Do the transforming, empowering work in my heart so that I would see what I ought to see … and to do what I ought to do.’ … A next step would be to rehearse the Scriptures that shed light on issues like this. … Be honest, ask God, search the Scriptures, rehearse them, and trust … that He’s going to complete in you what He’s begun.”

Editor’s Note: This article was compiled from two separate interviews conducted by Jeff Chamblee.