1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything
give thanks;
for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus
for you.
I have heard someone say
you really don’t have to give thanks
for everything
but just in everything.
They thought it might be foolish to
thank the Lord for a flat tire or an illness.
I have to respectfully and lovingly
disagree.
It seems to me,
if you won’t give thanks
for everything,
you really aren’t surrendering to everything.
What if that flat tire,
is an answer to prayer for safety?
What if it is keeping you from a 13 car pile-up?
Happened to me once.
Although I’m a little slow.
I didn’t realize until AFTER I blogged
what the Lord spared me from.
What if that flat tire
is what the Lord used
to show you you forgot to tie down the huge ladder
on top of your truck?
Instead of killing someone
with a loose ladder,
you only fixed a flat, then tied your ladder down.
Happened to my friend Tim.
What if the loss of your husband’s job,
is the Lord’s way of giving
your husband a BETTER job?
Happened to my friend Cheri.
What if that illness is an
answer to prayer for a chance to be a testimony
and become more Christ-like?
Happened to more friends than I can list.
What if taking one child home to Heaven early,
is one of the tools the Lord uses,
to bring salvation to the other kids in the family.
Happened to more friends than I can list.
What if…
What if…
What if…
We don’t know why God
causes or allows the circumstances of our lives.
We just need to trust Him.
We need to obey Him.
As we eagerly anticipate
a special day of Thanksgiving,
our hearts are looking to the Lord.
Most of us are already convicted
that we should be thankful
every day.
But, we need to go further
than showing thankfulness
every day.
We need to give thanks in
every
thing.
E V E R Y
thing.
This is the will of God,
in Christ Jesus,
for us.
Mindy ~ I was just blessed this morning to hear Charlie Fizer (have you ever heard him? He's from Dubuque, IA area) speak a wonderful and challenging message on Thankfulness. BUMMER for me I had run out of paper in my "notes" book and hadn't replaced it so I couldn't take any notes from his sermon. Anyway… He said that God COMMANDS us to be thankful. "in everything give thanks". He said, "God wants us to THINK about what we can be thankful for…" There was so much wonderful stuff in his message that I wish, wish, wish I could remember but for now that's what's going through my mind over and over again. It reminded me of this blog.The Lord has put it on my mind TWICE this week. I guess I better start praying about it. 🙂
Yes, in everything. Reminds me of the Corrie Tinboom story, 'The Hiding place.' Thank you for the reminder.
I agree, Mindy!What if the person you believed to be the Messiah and had followed for years of your life had died? That happened to some people I heard about, but it turns out they could be thankful for that, too–He was the Messiah, and His death made possible the forgiveness of sins for all men!I've sometimes wondered how, if all things work together for good (see Romans 8:28–this thought leaves out some context, but doesn't ignore it), we can be thankful for only some of those things…
Thank you for the good word Mrs. Peltier. I just heard a song tonight that shares the same message: "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks. What if the 'problems' have a greater and better purpose? Such a great knowledge to have.
Yes. And yet there are things for which we can not give thanks, things which do not come from God but from the sinful heart of man. Even those He can turn for good, and we can give thanks in them — but not for the sin.
I'm very thankful for my beautiful older sister who has such a gift with words! May the Lord continue to bless you with such good messages to share with us!!
PRAISE THE LORD!AMEN!Praise Him in the good times.Praise Him in the bad times. We are a constant testimony and people watch for our reaction. If we are thankful for something even in a rough time an unbeliever will notice.Thank you for this devotion today. It was something already on my mind as I read status updates on FB. It's easy to be extra thankful when things are all going perfect. It's a challenge to be thankful in the hard times. PRAY.