BY JILL BLAND FIERGE
Prepositions are (usually) a tiny part of speech that some people have trouble identifying but are very important in sentences. Prepositions are also very important in Scripture verses. For instance, I Thessalonians 5:18 states, “IN every thing give thanks: for this the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you “. (emphasis added) Some people think the scripture states FOR everything give thanks. Many trials it is almost impossible to be thankful for, but it is possible to be thankful in a trial. I remember one trial in particular I was going through. I expressed to the Lord that I could not find one thing about this trial to be thankful for but I would continue to be thankful in it. No matter what the financial struggle, God is still our Jehovah Jireh [“The Lord will provide]. No matter what the emotional pain, God is still our Jehovah Shalom [The Lord our peace]. No matter if it seems the whole world is against me, God is my Jehovah Nissi [The Lord our banner]. No matter how much physical pain, God is still my Jehovah Rapha [The Lord that heals]. God does not charge. I may feel like Job, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. ” We may not see him as Jehovah-Jireh, or Jehovah-Shalom, but, we can say, like Job, “. . .the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” We must be thankful IN everything.
Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ” This verse assures me that God will work my trial for my good, but I must continue to be thankful. When we become bitter our heart becomes as stone. God wants to use the trial to mold us and make us into something better, a vessel He can use. However, when our heart is as stone, the trial no longer can be used for our good. How awful to go through a painful experience and then not allow God to use it for our good because we are not pliable in God’s hands. In II Timothy those who are unthankful are included in the list of blasphemers and unholy. This would indicate that God may deal harshly with unthankfulness.
We live in a world that is rampant with unthankfulness. Let us pray that God will help us be l thankful in the good times as well as the bad. Then He can use it for our good and make us beautiful vessel for the Master.
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