This year Thanksgiving was different.

Not only did I take the time to reflect upon and give thanks for my many blessings, but I also did my best to truly appreciate my struggles, weaknesses and hardships as well.

I am thankful for my financial difficulty.
I am thankful for our current inability to have a child.
I am thankful for the character flaws that I have yet to refine.
I am thankful for my unfulfilled goals, dreams and expectations.

Why am I thankful for these things you may ask?

I am thankful for these things because I desire to follow in the example of the great Apostle Paul who revealed a timeless truth in his second letter to the church at Corinth:

I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ my rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9b

Simply Stated: When I delight in my natural weakness, I invite God’s supernatural power.

I call this radical thanks. And Paul had it.

Not because he was naive.
Not because he was delusional.
Not because he was unaware of his problems.
But because he was hungry for the power of Christ.

I am hungry for God’s power.
I yearn for the supernatural to take place.
I desire to see God work mightily in every broken area of my life.

And if radical thanks is the requirement, then radical thanks will be my response.