It’s really easy to give God thanks when things are going your way. When life is free and easy, you think everything will always be so. The problem is, we stop thanking God and, instead, believe that we are the ones who are making life a breeze.
The upshot of that attitude, is that our prayer life and thankfulness to God decreases. When that happens, all sorts of evil invades our lives.
Some people then blame God for what is happening when we are, ourselves, responsible for it. When we stop turning to God, he turns away. He has given us free will and will never force us to love him and obey him.
You will have repercussions but those are not from God. Those are from the master of evil in the world. Satan is a beast who wants to devour all of mankind. He wants us to look to him and to embrace his ways.
The thing is, that Christians will, when faced with persecution, turn to God again. They will cry out for his help. They will plead with him to save them.
The beautiful thing about God is that he will do so. Just keep in mind that God is much more concerned with the safety of your soul than that of your body.
We will all die someday and we all live with grief and strife. The infinitely more important issue is where you will spend your eternal life. God wants you to be with him. There is not one of us that he wishes to exclude.
It’s up to each of us to make the determination to accept the redemption of sin and promise of eternal life that Jesus died to provide us. Once you have made that decision and are trying to live your life for God, you will find that your attitude changes.
You can bear so much more because you know that you know you are promised so much more in heaven.
We are to be eternally thankful for this promise and to be thankful in all circumstances, good or bad. What seems bad to us has its part in God’s plan. We will, someday, understand but, in the meantime, give thanks each and every day for all of the blessings that God has given you.
It may be that the blessings are in the future but know that what is happening right now in your life, as a Christian, is a blessing as well. Ask God to reveal how you can be thankful in your trial and he will do so.
Accept it and praise him, even if it doesn’t make your life any easier. Look to him for fulfillment and let your worries and anxiety for the world depart.
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit [your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience] be known to all people. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.
And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].