On the night when Jesus was betrayed — He gave thanks.
If Jesus can give thanks in that — you can give thanks in everything.
If Jesus chooses to Practice Thanksgiving in the face of incomprehensible dark — why do we think there is any other better weapon against the dark?
“If you want a strong and resilient joyfulness, you have to practice thankfulness precisely when it’s hard.”
If Jesus believes that the Practice of Thanksgiving is the right response when He is about to be punished for every unimaginable evil that the world has or ever will ever know — how can we imagine that somehow thanksgiving isn’t the right response for whatever dark we’ve ever known?
If Jesus chooses to give thanks before He carries His Cross — why do we think we don’t have to practice gratitude and yet we can still carry ours?
Giving thanks is what gives us strength to carry our crosses.
If you want a strong and resilient joyfulness, you have to practice thankfulness precisely when it’s hard. 
When you turn and open your eyes to see gifts in the hard, it’s your mind that grows more open and flexible, and it’s looking for the brilliance of God in the dark that grows you in resilience for tomorrow’s hard times.
“Giving thanks is what gives us strength to carry our crosses.”
How you give thanks now, is how you get resilient and strong for tomorrow.
What good you choose to pay attention to today, is the good your mind will remember tomorrow, which is the good that your mind will be trained to be looking for next week.
Paying attention to grace today pays your soul dividends tomorrow
Ann Voskamp