October 12, 2009
God has not promised to keep us from life’s storms, but He will keep us through them.
READ: Philemon 1:4-16
In everything give thanks. —1 Thessalonians 5:18
Details make a difference. Ask the man from Germany who planned to visit his fiancée for Christmas but ended up in snowy Sidney, Montana, instead of sunny Sydney, Australia.
Prepositions in our language seem like insignificant details, but they can make a big difference. The words “in” and “for” are an example.
The apostle Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:18). That doesn’t mean we have to be thankful for everything. We need not be thankful for the bad choices someone makes, but we can be thankful in the circumstances because the Lord can use the resulting difficulties for good.
The letter to Philemon illustrates this idea. Paul was imprisoned with Onesimus, a runaway slave. He certainly didn’t have to give thanks for his bad situation. Yet his letter is full of gratitude because he knew that God was using it for good. Onesimus had become something more than a slave; he was now a beloved brother in the Lord (v.16).
Knowing that God can use all things for good is more than enough reason to give thanks in everything. Giving thanks in difficult circumstances is a small detail that makes a big difference. — Julie Ackerman Link
I give God all the glory for the bread share for today(on detail).I had autoaccident on the 1/10/09,i was rushed to the hospital,i couldn’t remember what i was saying on the way to hospital.when i woke up after treatment,somebody beside me said the i kept on repeating on the way to hospital was ‘thank you Jesus’ I want you to help thank him the more because i’m alive today-so it is good to be thanking God ‘in’ every situation
thank God for ur life
Something that I find difficult to reconcile, especially when I am facing burnout, depressed and lonely. Yet, the comforting statement is that giving thanks is God’s will for us. Wow, imagine God wills us to be thankful, I guess there really are a lot of things out there to be thankful about. Just need to be more open to what is happening around me.
Less of self, more of God!