Wednesday, February 17, 2010

1 Thessalonians 5:18

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (New Living Translation)
18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Today, I had to make a choice to be thankful. At first it wasn't an easy choice. Tuesday night I had taken Zach, my dog, to the Dr. because he had a tumor under his jaw. They said it may be cancer, but they didn't know, so they scheduled surgery for next week and we went home. So, this morning I went to work and after being there just an hour had to go home because the tumor had broken open. I took him back to the Vet and they said they would remove it today. Of course I was somewhat stressed and the first thing that came to mind was the fact that I had started writing about "praise and thanksgiving" the night before. I proceeded to ask GOD how HE expected me to write about that subject, and to actually mean it, when this was now happening? HE didn't answer me...why should HE? Like this verse says..."Be thankful in all circumstances"...I just had to get there! After a couple of minutes of a pity party I realized I did indeed have things to be thankful for. Like I wrote last night...I had to think about positive things. I have a job so I can pay for all of this...a great boss who let me leave to take Zach to the Vet...great friends who cared that I was having a bad day...so many more things that I can't even begin to list them all. And my dog Zach...he made it through the surgery. He doesn't like me much right now because he is in pain but he will get better. I am just praying that it is not cancer.

As a Christian we should remain thankful regardless of our circumstances. It's not always easy but, if we continue to thank GOD for what we have and praise HIM even when we are having problems, HE will help us through them. Sometimes you just have to tell the devil to get out of your head and quit filling it with all the negative thoughts that are so easy to have.

This old chorus just came to mind. I hope I am remembering it right.

Praise HIM
Praise HIM
Tell of HIS excellent greatness

Praise HIM
Praise HIM
Ever in joyful song

1 comment:

Denise said...

That's a wonderful post Chelle. And although your doubts and sorrow are inevitable, staying focused on positive thoughts with thanksgiving, will keep you hopeful and patient through his time of suffering and (hopefully!)recovery. I'll be praying for Zach! :}