In Everything Give Thanks:

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. – I Thessalonians 5:18​

Everything that we have is a gift from God and that is why we have to always remain thankful (James 1:17). It’s God’s will for us to be thankful in all things and in all circumstances. This is actually a shield and protection for us to be thankful. It shifts our focus on the goodness of God in the middle of the circumstance instead of the weight of what is going on. It also adds to us the strength that comes from God. We can embrace that strength more easily with a thankful heart and spirit.

I recently had a convo with a bestie of mine who’s been struggling financially in her household for some time. She recently called feeling overwhelmed by what had just happened. Her husband lost his job while the company was being sold and laying off employees. She said she felt somewhat paralyzed by her hubs sharing the news and needed to call someone to pray with her.

I quickly encouraged her to count her blessings. One, her husband did not like the job. It did not pay enough, and now he was free to pursue better. Two, he was laid off and not fired, so he is eligible for unemployment during the interim of him job-seeking now. Three, she’s been here before and the Lord supplied her needs. The Lord is her source and not the job.

She quickly felt better as she began to shift her perspective to the promises of God and the opportunities to be had because of her circumstance instead of allowing herself to remain paralyzed by fear.

I shared with her also that I’d been going through my own circumstance of losing my dad a week and a half ago, and visiting my mom in the mental hospital almost every day trying to support her through this so she can get back into her sound mind. I shared how drained and tired I felt, but I was being intentional about thanking God.

I shared that I thanked God that he gave my dad 65 years. I shared an incident years ago when I used to stay w/my parents when my dad had a bad cough and I kept encouraging him to go to the hospital. Come to find out, he had pneumonia. He was able to get cured of that through going in to get it checked out. Many die from pneumonia, but God allowed him to live several years afterward.

I thanked God that my dad lived 19 years longer than his father who passed from the same illness. I thanked God that my dad believed God until the end even though the disease he had was very uncomfortable. Now, I also thank God that I no longer have to worry about my dad, but I know that he is with the Lord. God is good and gives us grace in all situations. This grace is easily seen in thanking him.

Thankfulness is a way to fight for our peace without doing any heavy lifting. It allows us to keep our eyes on the promises of God and the goodness of God in the middle of our situations. Thankfulness is also a strong weapon against grief and heaviness.

and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. – Isaiah 61:3

This is a part of our inheritance or heritage in Christ Jesus. We do not have to become overwhelmed. We can grieve in a manner where God’s grace and strength cover us as we focus on being thankful.

No matter what life hits us with whether expected or unexpected transitions, job loss, or loss of a loved one; we can be guaranteed to have some joy even in those hard experiences because God will help us and give us the grace to be thankful right in the middle of it counting our blessings. This is how the people of God avoid fainting. See scripture below:

​If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small. – Proverbs 24:10

You’d be wise to make some adjustments with your schedule and how you build yourself up daily. Read my book, “The Wholeness Action Plan” for more on maintaining health and wholeness for your life mentally, spiritually, emotionally, socially, and so on. Another book I’d also recommend is Joyce Meyers’ “Living Beyond Your Feelings: Controlling Your Emotions So They Don’t Control You.”