Everything

1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

In everything! Surely not; how can I give thanks when I don’t have a job and the pay days have stopped, when I don’t feel good, when my body has aches and pain, when I have made more mistakes than I can count. We are also to give thanks for food and raiment, and all the mercies of life. The word “everything” means all that exists. Do you remember a man by the name of Job? One day all is well and the next morning it all begins to fall apart and he loses almost everything that he had. His wife encourages him to curse God and die; I love what Job tells her Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Did you see it? We act foolish if we only are thankful for the good things that come into our life. It is easy to praise God for a check in the mail for $10,000.00, for good health. But when the misfortune comes and we get the bad news it is not so easy to find the same kind of praise, but God said in everything (all that exists) our good fortunes as well as our misfortunes. How can we give thanks when disappointment reigns? Wouldn't it be hypocritical to give thanks when you don't feel like it or see any reason to? It's hard for all we can see is the present pain, the present disappointment, the present defeat, the present disaster. We forget that with God, it's not the end of the story. The month of November is the month of falling leaves, shorter days, but it’s also a month of Thanksgiving. My wife broke her leg 2 ½ weeks ago and everyday she get on face book and tell something she is thankful for. She is confined to a bed and recliner the only time she gets up is to go the bathroom and then it’s with much difficulty as she hops along on her walker; and not one time have I heard her complain. Ladies and Gentleman we have so much to be thankful for. So please don’t let the 20% that may be going wrong in your life our shine the 80% that’s not. Enjoy your family, the food and the friendships this Thanksgiving Day and express to those around you how Thankful you really are. I am very thankful for you who take the time to read my emails and blogs each day and the encouraging words you send from time to time. My prayer for each of you is to have a wonderful day and enjoy the long weekend and I’ll write some more on Monday. God Bless each of you.