THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
This past Sunday morning our pastor's sermon was on Psalms 109:30.
"With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD;
And I will praise Him in the midst of many.
The pastor asked if we were to be asked, "what are you thankful for, can we give an answer, without taking a lot of time to think about it?"
Many of us will have a prepared answer... "I'm thankful for my family", "I'm thankful for my job", "my home" or numerous other things. Right? And these would all be true.
Who amongst us would answer that same question with something like, "I'm thankful that, I lost my job and don't have enough money to make my mortgage payment this month" or "I'm thankful that my child is very sick?"
It's pretty easy to spout off the positive things that God has blessed us with... but the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5 says that we are to be thankful in "ALL CIRCUMSTANCES". That's a tough one.
A few afternoons ago a friend was in one of my hunting stands and he called and told me he had to leave. His brother-in-law wasn't answering his phone and no one could find him. Before our friend got to his brother-in-law's house, the sheriff department had gotten in and found him dead... I'm not sure about anybody else, but my first thought isn't to be thankful for that news.
But do we trust God? Do we believe him when He tells us that "ALL things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes" (Romans 8:28)? How can this be, as we watch a family member die?
Remember what 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 tells us " For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.".
We don't see all that God sees... He sees the beginning and the end. He sees all history past and sees the future the same. He sees a beautiful tapestry and we see lose threats on the back that make no sense. But we have to trust that He knows and has a plan that is far better than our plan.
So what are you thankful for today? Be thankful in ALL THINGS.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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