In Everything Give Thanks

Dearest Ones,

There is no doubt about it that God expects us to be thankful no matter what circumstances may come to our lives. Ephesians 5:20 says, "Giving thanks always for all things...." This verse is easier to read than obeyed, but it is a command, not a suggestion. When I'm in pain, as I was after I had a tooth pulled last week, I tried in vain to give thanks for it, especially when I learned the continued pain afterwards was due to a "dry socket." (I hope you never have one! It's awful!!) Instead of giving thanks for the pain, I tried being grateful for all the blessings I have, including enough to eat, I can walk, talk, breathe, pray, etc. This helped me feel ashamed of feeling sorry for myself.

When a loved one is sick or taken in death, it is not easy to give thanks. Is God commanding the impossible? Is He mocking us and making the pain even worse? The suffering is bad enough, but must we suffer because we feel guilty for not being thankful?

God never commands the impossible. He commands only what with His help we can do. So if God commands me to be thankful for all things, then He will enable me to obey Him, and I will be a better person because of it.

When we wake up in intensive care or stand at the grave of a loved one, how can we give thanks? The answer is in those great virtues of faith, hope and love. When you love somebody you trust him and you will not be afraid of him. If we love our Father in heaven, then we will not be afraid of what He permits to happen to us. If He loves us, He cannot harm us. He may permit suffering, but He can never permit His child to be harmed by trials.

When sorrow comes, our first reaction might be, "Why did this happen to me?" After all, if I am walking with the Lord. why should this trial come? This is when we have to be careful of the devil, who will plant evil thoughts, such as, "If God loves you so much, why did this happen? I thought God promised to care for His children."

Don't let the devil steal from you the fact that God loves you. God's love for you never changes. When you experience the love of God in your heart, then your faith will grow stronger, and you will be able to give thanks. To give thanks when everything is falling apart is a real act of faith, but we Christians "walk by faith not by sight."

We need to say to ourselves, "My Father loves me because He said so and His Son died for me. Because He loves me, I can trust Him. He has some wonderful purpose in mind that I can't see right now. If we can just say that, our Father will fill us with blessings and we will be able to give thanks. We will be rewarded, if we trust Him.

When you and I go through the hardships of life, our heavenly Father says to us: "You don't understand all of this , but I do, and I know it is for your good. Trust me and be sure of my love. I have something wonderful planned for you - not only in this life, but in the next, so don't be discouraged."

"In everything give thanks..." We cannot obey that commandment in our own strength; we need the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't rely on your own strength, surrender everything to Jesus and then you will see what will happen. Come to Him. Give Him your burdens. Trust in His love for faith is all you need. We look at our situation with tears and wonder what God has planned. We know His love can't fail us. As our faith, hope and love grow stronger, we are able to give thanks for everything.

My love and prayers always,
Sister Francelle