All you want to do is gather with family around the Thanksgiving table and eat good food.

But you’re already feeling the stress of the holiday season. You dread fighting for the last turkey at the grocery store. You’re worried about that one relative who always causes a fight. And then there’s all the cooking and the dishes that need to be cleaned after! Whether you’re hosting or you’re traveling somewhere for Thanksgiving, it can all seem like too much. You feel guilty for dreading a holiday you should love.

Finding Thanks Even When You’re Not Thankful

Are you feeling run down by all your Thanksgiving planning? You’re not alone! It’s so easy to miss past Thanksgivings or long for a better future during this time of year. But the Bible tells us when we can give thanks even when things aren’t ideal.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us, “Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances.”

But how?! you might wonder. How can I possibly feel joyful right now? What helps me is reading God’s message of comfort and hope in his Word. As I meditate on God’s goodness, I’m awakened to all the ways he shows me love each day.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the beginning of the holiday season, take some time to reflect on these verses and ask God to bring you his joy:

If you’re feeling stressed, remember you won’t always feel this way.

Sing praise to the Lord,
    all his faithful people!
Remember what the Holy One has done,
    and give him thanks!
His anger lasts only a moment,
    his goodness for a lifetime.
Tears may flow in the night,
    but joy comes in the morning. — Psalm 30:4-5 (GNTD)

You can find joy in the fact that God delights in who you are!

The Lord your God is with you;
    his power gives you victory.
The Lord will take delight in you,
    and in his love he will give you new life.
He will sing and be joyful over you. — Zephaniah 3:17 (GNTD)

God will hold onto you no matter what. He won’t leave you.

If the Lord had not helped me,
    I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.
I said, “I am falling;”
    but your constant love, O Lord, held me up.
Whenever I am anxious and worried,
    you comfort me and make me glad. — Psalm 94:17-19 (GNTD)

If you believe in God, you are saved! You can find joy in that fact alone.

You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him. — 1 Peter 1:8-9 (GNTD)