2009-04-15 - 8:51 a.m.
"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18 This scripture has been one that has always caught my eye. It's one I repeat to myself when things may not be going my way. It reminds me to look at my life through the right lens and see how blessed I truly am. This verse is an excellent perspective shifter. I always kinda focused on the first part. It's easy to memorize. "Be thankful in all circumstances." But today the second part was highlighted to me. "For This Is God's Will For You." Why does God want me to be thankful for everything? EVERYTHING? Have you ever spent time with an ungrateful person? Someone you could break your back for and somehow they can't muster a "thank you?" If you think of that person and the time you spent with them (however minimal) you may think of two things... 1. The person was not a joy to be around. In fact you probably were proud of yourself for not strangling them at some point. 2. It affected you. Was your day just a little less great because of having to deal with that person? So going back to the original thought of; "Why Does God Want Me To Be Thankful?" it comes pretty simply. How well am I representing God if people don't want to be around me because I annoy the stuffing out of them? Even more... my life would be miserable if I felt I had nothing to be thankful for. Sure I can get into my pity parties. But when I honestly look at my lives, I can find many SOMETHINGS to be thankful for. I have a family who loves me, ridiculously lovely friends, a steady job and a great church. Break it down further I can say there was heat in my apartment over the winter and there was always food in my kitchen (sometimes miraculously). I live in a country that I can write these thoughts down and no one is going to cart me off to prison, because in America we have the freedom of religion and speech. Or I could go the silly route and say I'm thankful for my Tivo and for good hair days. Some days maybe we feel like the world is coming down around us and we need to be thankful that we are able to breath unassisted or walk or see or speak. God knew what He was doing when He said it was His will for us to be thankful. Because counting your blessings literally builds you a ladder to pull yourself up out of a pit. A grateful person is a happy person. A grateful person affects the people around them in a much more useful way than an ungrateful person does. I heard a story once about Corrie Ten Boom who was a very well known and lovely woman of God who spent time in a concentration camp during the War. Her sister Betsey INSISTED that they be grateful every day because it was God's will for them. Corrie was indignant about this. They were in one of the worst concentration camps in Germany. The food was one half pound of bread and one half liter of soup per day. The work was hard and the guards were cruel. And what little time they had to rest was spent in a cell where fleas and lice were so thick, they literally swarmed you when you entered the room. Corrie and Betsie had smuggled a Bible into the camp and traded it back and forth during the day. If the guards found one or caught anyone having meetings, they were to be executed. At first, the women held these meetings very timidly. But as the weeks wore on and no guards came into the bunkroom, they grew bolder. Corrie marveled at this. Why was it that no guard came in? Betsie excitedly told Corrie, "I found out for sure, Corrie. I overheard two guards. The guards will not step foot in the bunkroom because of the FLEAS! Thank God for the fleas!" The fleas kept the guards out of the room for fear of getting fleas themselves. Corrie and Betsey were spared death and other unspeakable treatments at the hands of the guards due to the fleas that covered their room and their bodies. Perhaps on a smaller scale, we have things in our lives that are our 'fleas' - things that seem unpleasant and we even suffer a bit because of... but if we alter our perception - Is God using those circumstances to do something wonderful? Think about it. Maybe you'll find a flea you need to be thanking God for.
2009-04-15-Thank God For Fleas!
Make This A Favorite
2009-04-10-Two Things You May Not Know About God.
2009-03-25-5 Mins With God
2008-09-29-Women's Retreat
2008-03-16-Dates With God - Online Bible Study