Rejoice in EVERYTHING!

Life has so many twists and turns that sometimes it is definitely difficult to keep up.  One minute you are flying this way and the next you are running that way.  In past blogs, I have talked about my difficulty slowing down and appreciating "being."  This is a little different.

I was reading through a devotion this morning from Oswald Chambers.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

WOW!!!  In everything, give thanks.  No matter what?  I remember a speaker at a youth conference a few years back that talked about having all of his dreams in line when he was in high school.  He KNEW he was supposed to be this hot shot basketball player but the week before basketball season started, he threw his knee out.  He was out the whole season.  All of a sudden, his dreams and ambitions changed.  Life was not over by any means, but life was forced to head in a different direction.  BAM!  He hit a wall.  Where was he going to go now?  How was he going around this wall?

Life is like that sometimes.  There are times when you think you have it all together and in a flash, everything changes.  Change scares people.  People don't like change (or at least I don't).

So how do we rejoice and praise God when hitting a wall?  How do we find joy in uncertainty?  Many times when I have felt the biggest headache from that wall or the most uncertain, that is when I have to stop.  I have to stop and remember that God is there.  Many times I don't want to remember that I am safe and even though things might not make sense right then, I will come out on top.

I like was the Oswald Chambers devotion said this morning.  "Rejoice in everything if you are His child -- no matter where you find yourself, no matter what your circumstances are, no matter what tribulations come.  You can give thanks in all things because He remains the same.  Nothing alters him." (Devotions for a Deeper Life, p 24)

If there is one thing I have realized in my prayer life changes that I have made over the past few months, God has been there in all of them.  It is not that God is more there now then when I started praying way back as a little one.  No matter where I am, what celebration, or heartache, God is there with all of the warmth and comfort.  We just have to be open to that warmth and comfort, and not take it for granted.

AMEN