God, You did everything You promised, and I'm thanking you with all my heart. You pulled me from the brink of death, my feet from the cliff-edge of doom. Now I stroll at leisure with God in the sunlit fields of life. (Vs. 12-13, The Message Bible)
In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Giving thanks in everything is pretty all-inclusive. David hadn't become victorious yet when He declared his victory over the enemy because God helped him. These last two verses are spoken in faith according to the commentaries I perused. I remember the old song Leave it There......with the lyrics leave it there, leave it there, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. One of the best ways to do that, it seems, is to thank God in advance for His answers to your prayers. Not conning God into doing your will, but thanking Him that He will do His. And trusting the outcome will "work together for the good" because you love Him....and He loves you.
So let's look at life's everythings. No job, lost marriage, lost health, lost home, lost child, wayward wife or husband, workplace drama, injury, abandonment, strife, or betrayal. Of course, this list is far from exhaustive, but you see where I am going with this. There are some pretty horrendous things that we are to thank God in. Not for. In.
How do we do that? We decide to. What is the benefit to us? Peace. Strolling at leisure with our God in the fields of life. What is the alternative? Gut-wrenching worry about things we cannot control. If we believe in the goodness of God - that goodness is His glory - we must know He is somehow in the harrowing events that wreak havoc on both the godly and ungodly. If we know He watches over us as the apple of His eye, that the one who touches us touches what is precious to Him, then the safest place to be in the turmoil is right up next to our Father's heart.
Why does He allow such things in our lives? It's earth! Not heaven. Reminded of that again this morning as the Tunisian U.S. Embassy is now under siege. We are at the mercy of other people's ideas and perceptions. The world right now is under different leadership. Cosmically. We are light in darkness....there is not dark in the light. As such, we are going to be surrounded by an ever-increasing ebony cloud out of which we must shine through like stars in the night. For this isn't our home. Not supposed to get too comfortable here. Traveling through it shows us how to hold our Father's hand so that when we grasp it on the way to eternal fields of incomprehensible light, the transition is seamless.
In the rioting, fire and death that has marked the last few days, we can thank God in the fact He has a plan for the world....the end of the age....and it must begin somewhere. Thank the Judge of All that He sees what is happening and walks the streets of the Middle East knowing how it all turns out. I am thankful He is wise and good. That in the Book of Life He has read the end...wrote it, of course..and so has a plan for each strategic life that strolls or struts about the planet this very day.
In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Giving thanks in everything is pretty all-inclusive. David hadn't become victorious yet when He declared his victory over the enemy because God helped him. These last two verses are spoken in faith according to the commentaries I perused. I remember the old song Leave it There......with the lyrics leave it there, leave it there, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. One of the best ways to do that, it seems, is to thank God in advance for His answers to your prayers. Not conning God into doing your will, but thanking Him that He will do His. And trusting the outcome will "work together for the good" because you love Him....and He loves you.
So let's look at life's everythings. No job, lost marriage, lost health, lost home, lost child, wayward wife or husband, workplace drama, injury, abandonment, strife, or betrayal. Of course, this list is far from exhaustive, but you see where I am going with this. There are some pretty horrendous things that we are to thank God in. Not for. In.
How do we do that? We decide to. What is the benefit to us? Peace. Strolling at leisure with our God in the fields of life. What is the alternative? Gut-wrenching worry about things we cannot control. If we believe in the goodness of God - that goodness is His glory - we must know He is somehow in the harrowing events that wreak havoc on both the godly and ungodly. If we know He watches over us as the apple of His eye, that the one who touches us touches what is precious to Him, then the safest place to be in the turmoil is right up next to our Father's heart.
Why does He allow such things in our lives? It's earth! Not heaven. Reminded of that again this morning as the Tunisian U.S. Embassy is now under siege. We are at the mercy of other people's ideas and perceptions. The world right now is under different leadership. Cosmically. We are light in darkness....there is not dark in the light. As such, we are going to be surrounded by an ever-increasing ebony cloud out of which we must shine through like stars in the night. For this isn't our home. Not supposed to get too comfortable here. Traveling through it shows us how to hold our Father's hand so that when we grasp it on the way to eternal fields of incomprehensible light, the transition is seamless.
In the rioting, fire and death that has marked the last few days, we can thank God in the fact He has a plan for the world....the end of the age....and it must begin somewhere. Thank the Judge of All that He sees what is happening and walks the streets of the Middle East knowing how it all turns out. I am thankful He is wise and good. That in the Book of Life He has read the end...wrote it, of course..and so has a plan for each strategic life that strolls or struts about the planet this very day.
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