Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in ALL circumstances...
Really? ALL circumstances? Ann Voskamp tells a story in her ONE THOUSAND GIFTS devotional book of watching her farmer husband plant seeds and thanking God for it not to rain until they get them all planted. Her daughter, standing next to her, was thanking God for the rain drops if it did rain. The mother looked at her daughter - as if she were being disobedient - and realized her daughter's faith was greater than her own. She says this:
I have held dying babies. Eaten with those who live in the town
garbage heap. Wept with women who've been violated, with
the bankrupt, the heart-crushed, the terminal. And this
never stops being true: neglecting to give thanks only deepens the
wounds of the world...Giving thanks makes the canyon of pain
into a megaphone to proclaim the ultimate goodness of God.
Satan is never happier than we can only give thanks in our bounty. He is denied his joy when we can recognize that God is good ALL the time and that by giving thanks we give Him the honor and glory only He deserves. Our pain draws us into His presence in a way no bounty ever could...that pain is a vessel that fills up with peace when we acknowledge His goodness and not our poverty.
I have used this Elisabeth Eliot quote before but it bears repeating:
It is always possible to be thankful for what is given
rather than resentful over what is withheld - one
attitude or the other becomes a way of life.
What way are you taking today?
For further study: Job 2:10, Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100:4, Habakkuk 3:17-18, 1 Cor. 15:57, 2 Cor. 2:14, Ephesians 5:19-20, Philippians 4:6,1 Tim. 4:4, Hebrews 12:28
May God richly bless your understanding of His word.
Love,
Holly
thank you... this is encouraging to me today!
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