What If?

I tend to be a worrier.

Despite all the things I have learned about God through His Word, despite the fact that He has never failed me, I still find myself reacting to adverse circumstances with thoughts of “what if?” and elaborately-imagined worst-case scenarios.

When I am responsible to make a decision, it’s even worse, because not only am I a worrier, I am also notoriously indecisive. –And then after I finally decide, I worry about whether I made the right decision!

This week, God has been challenging me to use those thoughts of worry as a reminder to give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 gives a startling command:

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

This means that, no matter what is happening, no matter how I feel or what I’m going through, my responsibility is to give thanks.

The Lord has been reminding me to give thanks even for the little things. Small moments of peace or joy or just feeling well and strong are more than enough reason to render thanks to God.

There is no mercy too small, no blessing too simple to deserve our gratitude to the One who gave it.  

But there’s more to this than just giving thanks for the things we are enjoying: the verse says in everything. That means even the things we don’t like.

That’s the startling part. How can God expect us to give thanks for the negative circumstances or hardships of life?

Simply because of who He is.

Psalm 118 begins and ends with twin statements:

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.”(118:29)

If God is good (and He is), and His mercy never ends, or runs out, we can know that those things in our lives which we would not have chosen for ourselves are intended and will work for our good (Romans 8:28)

There is always a purpose to trials and tribulations, and if we believe that God is good, we can give thanks for the good He is bringing about through our trials, even when we can’t see it yet.

As the book of Romans says,

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (8:31)

So here’s a new set of what-if’s:

What if you and I actually lived out what we know to be true about God?

What if we chose to see the difficulties of life, not as a curse, but as a blessing in the making?

What if we chose to trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He is good?

What if we chose to remember that His mercy never runs out?

Then, dear reader, we would give thanks “in every thing.”