1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I found this verse a challenge to me several months into a debilitating illness. It’s a verse we’ve memorized with our little children, so I need to practice what I preach! And yet, as I list all the blessings in my life, they massively outnumber the woes. And it is humbling to live alongside others who have suffered so much more. My colleague Sarah’s husband was murdered, so she is now a widow with four children and no social security, yet she beams and praises the Lord for his many blessings to her.
A short-term mission team went to the island of Tobago to serve in a leper colony. During a worship service, the team leader asked if anyone had a favorite song they wanted to sing. A woman’s hand shot up. When he turned to her, he was horrified by her appearance. Her hand was a fingerless stump, her face was disfigured, her nose, lips and ears were gone. But she beamed with joy, and asked him: “Could we sing ‘Count Your Many Blessings’?” The missionary started the song but couldn’t finish. Another team member later said to him: “I suppose you’ll never be able to sing the song again.” He answered: “No, I’ll sing it again. Just never in the same way.”
Sometimes, it’s only in retrospect that we can thank God for blessings which at the time we considered woes. I’m hoping that’s the case with my illness. A by-product of enforced rest has been this book. On a much deeper level, Alexander Solzhenitsyn was able to reflect on his hideous suffering in the Soviet gulag: “It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. So, bless you, prison, for having been in my life.”
Lord, I count my many blessings today and I choose to give thanks in all circumstances. Amen!
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