Hallelujah Anyway

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands,
    finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
    to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
for he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107:1-9

The title of Anne Lamott’s book Hallelujah Anyway, captures the sense of many of the psalms. These prayers aren’t embarrassed to name hardship and to give thanks in the same line.

Psalm 107 doesn’t shy away from those who are struggling to find a place to call home, those who are struggling to have enough to eat, and those who are deeply troubled. And it also doesn’t shy away from freely naming God’s goodness and inviting us to give God thanks. The psalms don’t pretend everything is easy, and they don’t overlook God’s presence either. Those two things can be hard to hold in tension.

As you think about Thanksgiving week, what are some of the things you are holding in tension, especially when it comes to relating to family or to being grateful in the midst of discouraging political/cultural happenings? Where might God be seeking to meet you in all of that?