“In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God for you.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you've already
realized this spiritual principle:
battles are won or lost in our minds. Not in some new-agey way, or
mind-over-matter-and -deny-the-reality way, or even in a “power of positive
thinking” way, but in a biblical way.
I had the chance to experience this truth during a time when our family
was hit with a series of illnesses. I discovered that it was easy to maintain
my focus when one person got sick, or
even when one person at a time got
sick, or even when everyone but the mommy
got sick, but when all of the above happened, it hit really hard.
One morning during my quiet time, I read 1 Thessalonians
5:18, “In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God for you.”
I
realized that this is where the victory is won—in the choices we make. Being
thankful is a choice, not a feeling. I can choose to feel sorry for myself
for being cooped up in a house that sounds like
a Tuberculoses ward during an epidemic, or I can be thankful for family
and friends who brought by meals and groceries because I couldn’t get out.
I can whine about having to set the alarm clock to give a feverish child
a dose of medicine, or I can be thankful for her sweet, softly whispered, “I
love you, Mommy. You’re the best nurse ever.”
I can complain about having no energy, or I can be thankful for those
times of inactivity when we cuddle together on a couch and read a book
because it's is the only thing we feel like doing. I can complain about how
long we’ve been sick, or I can be thankful that we will, unlike many, be well
again. I cannot control my circumstances, but I can control how I react to them.
Speaker, writer, and pastor Chuck Swindoll said,
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the
past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than
successes, than what other people think or say or do.
May we be victorious through the attitude we choose to embrace. In
everything give thanks!
Application
Questions:
What is the most difficult aspect of your life right now?
Are you willing to give thanks to God for it, trusting that He will use
it for your good?
Action
Step for This Week:
Post the above quote from Chuck Swindoll and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in a
prominent place in your home. Commit to glorify God through your attitude this
week.
Prayer of
Commitment:
“Lord, I
confess that sometimes my attitude is not thankful or positive. Sometimes I
don’t really believe that You are at work in the difficult circumstances in my life.
Sometimes I forget that You didn’t come to make us comfortable; You came to
make us holy. Help me, this week, to set the example before my children of what
it means to give thanks in everything.”
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