Hallelujah Even Here
by Kailyn Hollabaugh,
When the Thanksgiving season comes around, social media floods with posts that express thankfulness for family, friends, etc. It is a subconscious action to give thanks or praise when we feel blessed. Yet, what happens when we face trials and perplexities where no ray of hope seems to touch our hearts? Those sentimental feelings of Thanksgiving time seem intangible when faced with grief or anxiety. Where is the feeling of gratitude when, as Isaiah says, “though passest through the waers,” or “when thou walkest through the fire?”
It is not in our human nature to exclaim praises of thanks when faced with a discouraging problem. However, though we may not feel extremely thankful when placed in a difficult situation, we can praise the One whose ways are higher than ours. Our thanks can be founded on the truth that Jesus is with us through each trial we face, knowing that He has already overcome the battle.
Consider Job, a man who encountered every hardship imaginable. Yet through it all Job never once turned his back on God, neither did his relationship with God waver. Job 1:20 states, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Here we can see that Job still offers up praise to the Lord amid affliction. There is a song that states, “Hallelujah even here…” Hallelujah even when we question the circumstances we go through; hallelujah even when our world is seemingly crashing around us; hallelujah even if we lose everything we hold dear.
Romans speaks of rejoicing in the hope of the Glory of God, encouraging us that we have access to faith in His grace. This is the basis of why we as Christians can give thanks within adversity. Romans also expresses, “…but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” Hope is the reason that Christians can give thanks in the middle of the turmoil. Hope is assured that God knows the end of each trial, and that He has prepared a way through.