Shall we accept good from God and not trouble? -Job 2:10
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. We always have reasons to give thanks to God.
Job was one of the richest men in his time, but he was suddenly stripped of his material wealth, his children, and his health. Job’s perspective is admirable. He chose to accept life’s blessings as well as its struggles, its highs and its lows. Do you ever thank God for a tough day because you know it could be enlightening to you in the future? My guess is that many of us thank God later on, when we have the whole story, but seldom do we thank him while the trouble is happening.
We can pray to Him about areas in our lives that we consider tough right now: our careers, our relationships with our family, or whatever. And we can genuinely thank Him for the opportunity to grow. That sounds hard to do, but as we cooperate with God, He will give us strength to give thanks in all circumstances.
God promises to be there for us in good times and bad. We don’t know why God sometimes delivers us from bad stuff and sometimes we have to endure bad stuff, but He is always there for us to lean on Him. He doesn’t promise us a life of ease, but He does promise us that if we are faithful to Him, we can have our salvation even in our lowest and darkest times in this life. Our reward for being faithful isn’t all in this life, but He will reward us in heaven. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Develop an attitude of gratitude for your life story.
God, help me to look to you in every circumstance in my life, and empower me to always give you thanks and to praise you. Amen.