Thank you God for that speeding ticket. Thank you for losing my keys again. Thank you for spaghetti on the floor. Thank you for being rejected. Thank you for the pain. Thank you for not answering that prayer the way I desired. Thank you for saying no to the biggest prayer of my life.
If you are thinking.... I have finally went over the edge and lost my mind. Too late! That has been the case for a very long time now. hahahahhah! I saw that! Some of you that know me well, just shook your head in agreement. Shame on you. hahahahah! Why does Paul say.... we should give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,...?
Seems crazy to thank God for the bad stuff. I remember reading a book about Corrie Ten Boom's life in the Nazi concentration camps where they were experiencing an infestation with lice. She told how they would torment them day and night, making them itch and scratch mercilessly. Her sister told Corrie they should thank God for all things, even the lice. Corrie was not welcoming to the idea of thanking God for the lice but heard her sister say those very words in a prayer of her own. Later Corrie discovered that the male guards were sexually assaulting the other women in the other buildings, but because of the infestation of lice, none of the guards would even go into their building. God used the lice to protect the women. The very thing that drove them crazy was the very thing that protected them from further heartache. Fascinating isn't it?
Could God be using the not so pleasant, or even heart breaking circumstances in our life to protect us from something worse? Could my speeding ticket get my attention to keep me from being habitually reckless? Could losing my keys be an opportunity for my boys to feel useful when they find them for me? Could spaghetti on the floor be a lesson in encouraging the one who dropped it? Could rejection be teaching us how to love like God loves? Could the pain be teaching us endurance and dependence on an all sufficient God? Could the prayer God answered His way have prevented us from living with the consequences getting our own way? Finally, could God's "no" response to a prayer I was certain was His hearts desire to grant, have been His Best for me and those I love?
Since there are " some " answers that our Sovereign Lord will not reveal to us until we get home, at the very LEAST, thanking God in all things changes our attitude from unappreciative and self centered into one of gratitude and a positive perspective which is indicative of anticipating good things from a good God. At the Most ..... and for me the most humorous.... you get those weird looks from people who are sure that you have lost your mind! Seriously.... God can show them what trusting Him and authentic faith looks like.... when you don't have all the answers. So.... thank God for something that sucks today and see how you feel!
Love, Angela
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