Choosing Gratitude When the Enemy Attacks

When the numbers didn’t add up, God moved the heart of someone who could help. His provision always arrives right on time.

Today’s testimony is brought to you by our Heavenly Father.

I want to start by saying that I hope over Thanksgiving you had a chance to enter the presence of the Lord with a grateful heart. I truly did my best to remain thankful in all situations, but the enemy was relentless this year. It felt like he was doing everything possible to rob our joy, distract us, and shift our focus off the Lord. In the moment it’s hard to see, but looking back, it’s absolutely clear—we were attacked from every direction.

This devotion is exactly what it means to choose gratitude when the enemy attacks, even when the attacks come wrapped in ordinary, everyday frustrations.

This year we decided to host Thanksgiving and invite both sides of the family along with some friends. Before the day even arrived, drama broke out. Some family members didn’t join us because of hurt feelings and tension. It was sad, and honestly, it set the tone for the first wave of spiritual distraction.

On Thanksgiving morning, my wife and I started cooking—and immediately hit problems. We discovered that some of the ingredients we bought couldn’t even be used. One of those items was something I had rushed out to purchase the night before. Not a big deal, but it was the start of a slow and steady attempt by the enemy to steal peace.

Then the mashed potatoes didn’t turn out right, and we had to throw the whole dish in the trash. The dessert was accidentally left behind at a family member’s house, and they didn’t realize it until they were almost at our door. So off to the store we went—again—hoping by the grace of God to find mashed potatoes and a dessert this late in the day.

And guess what?

There they were.

Praise God—Thanksgiving was saved.

Back in the kitchen, my wife was running two crockpots, and I was outside grilling a turkey for the first time. And you know what? Everything turned out amazing. As people started arriving—friends, family, familiar faces—my perspective began shifting back to what mattered most. I found myself thanking God again because I realized something important:

I had allowed the enemy to distract me with meaningless problems.

Mashed potatoes are meaningless.

Dessert is meaningless.

What mattered most was honoring my Father by being a good steward of what He provided and being a faithful example to everyone under my roof.

It’s almost funny how worked up we can get over things that don’t matter. Thank God His love doesn’t just cover my shortcomings—it lifts me back up to where my heart needs to be.

But the truth is, this year is different for us. We’ve experienced some major financial downgrades, and the holidays make that reality hit even harder. We are walking through a season where our bills are higher than our income. It’s an extremely stressful situation if you let it take hold of you. If you don’t run to the Lord, it will drive you to panic, to fear, and to decisions made out of pressure instead of faith.

My wife and I talked about the cost of hosting Thanksgiving. This year it was expensive—much more than previous years—and it made us question whether we could afford to move forward. It would be foolish to host a big meal and then not be able to pay a bill afterward.

So we did what we’ve learned to do when choosing gratitude when the enemy attacks our peace and our finances—we prayed.

And I felt the Lord tell me clearly: Move forward, and I will take care of it.So we obeyed. My wife bought all the groceries, and we prepared everything without giving another anxious thought to whether we should have spent the money.

The next day my mom came over. Completely unprompted, she handed us $200 and said she wanted to help.

Praise God.

The Lord kept His word. He saw our obedience. He covered the cost. And He reminded us that there is no such thing as a small miracle—only perfect miracles crafted for each situation. Every single one deserves our gratitude.

Praise God for His love. Praise Him for His miracles. And praise Him for teaching me again what it looks like to choose gratitude when the enemy attacks.

Thank you, Father, for another day.Amen.

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