In everything give thanks

Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16 – 18

Really?

This is the month of Thanksgiving. A time here in America where we reflect on how blessed we are. It is not always easy because selfishness creeps in on us very easily. It is easy to become prideful and selfish and to not realize how well we really have it. At a minimum, as a Christian, you have Christ and if you think about it that means you have everything.

I just went through a very painful dental surgery. I won’t go into details but suffice it to say my mouth was in severe pain and I felt as if I had broken my nose. Believe it or not I am grateful. When I was a young boy, I had my teeth knocked out, right after my permanent teeth had come in. The University of Pittsburgh Dental School experimented on me, successfully, but not without consequences. Since that time, I had dealt with issues resulting from the experimentation. The surgery I just had, despite the pain, is the beginning of finally making right, the best that could be done over 40 years ago.

I am telling you all this to say that despite the pain, I can give thanks to the Lord for the wisdom and insight He gave the dentist over 40 years ago and the increased wisdom and insight He has given my dentist now. The pain I am going through is on my way to my healing.

As much as my suffering is physical, yours may be as well, or it could be spiritual, mental, or emotional. Regardless of where your pain is rooted, I would encourage you to give thanks, not so much for the pain itself, but because you know the Lord, you know He will use it to bring about your healing.

You can choose to wallow in your pain, allow your pain to be what identifies you, or you can choose to believe that you are a son or daughter of Christ and that this temporary discomfort, if given over to God, will get you to your place of total healing.

God did not cause the problems I have, but I have given them over to Him and have expected Him to use them for my good. He has used them to help me become who He has called me to be. Rather than taking ownership of my suffering, I gave it over to Him and asked Him to use it for His honor and glory.

Jeremiah 29:11, you know it, talks about God’s plans for us. All of His plans are good. Bad things will happen because we live in a fallen world. We don’t have to identify with them or take ownership of them. They are not to define us. He is to define us! If we give thanks to Him for giving us the opportunity to trust Him with our struggle, pain, wound, or whatever, He will then turn it from a tragedy to a triumph. In everything give thanks!