Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for you? We are told to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ Is this possible? Why is being thankful in ALL circumstances commanded? Why is this God’s will?

We Have The Freedom To Be Thankful

Jesus died and rose again to give his children freedom. We are free from the bonds of sin. While that is wonderful, and we will take a deeper look into what that means next week, Jesus desires to give us even more freedom. Yes, I believe it is possible to be thankful in ALL circumstances. While it may not be easy, it is possible. After all, Jesus himself said…“Anything is possible if a person believes.” Mark‬ ‭9:23‬ (‭NLT)‬‬. We can always find something to be thankful for, even in the most dire situations. 

Tough Week

I’m not gonna lie, this last week has been a tough one for me to be thankful. Last week we lost an incredible guy who was a bright light to the world. His time was cut short, and for that I am both sad and angry. Then a dear friend called telling me her husband was going to be forced to leave his job. She, understandably, is concerned for the well being of her family if he is without a job for a while. 

I am weary of all the needless attacks on human life and livelihood that has been going on for over a year and a half now. I am emotionally tired of listening to people’s stories about loved ones dying from a virus that is completely treatable, but the very treatments to cure this virus are being suppressed and denied.

Reading and hearing stories of people who have had severe reactions to the covid shot is almost unbearable for me. Furthermore, after doing some in-depth research about the possible long-term effects and not knowing if others will eventually have severe side effects too is disheartening. Then, to top it all off, Biden announced that he is going to demand that everyone who works in a company with more than 100 employees will be forced to get the shot. 

Overseas Heartache

I’m tired of being led by an evil, illegitimate regime whose only goal seems to be destruction and domination. They uproot our troops in Afghanistan and leave both Americans and Afghans to fend for themselves. Then just when you think you might be able to come up for a breath, this mandate, excuse me, they no longer call it a mandate now, it is a requirement, comes down that if you want to continue to work, you must get the shot. This new requirement hits very close to home for us. If this were to pass, Brett would be without a job as he will never, ever get that shot. 

We Have The Choice

Still, I choose to walk in the freedom of thankfulness. I am thankful that as of now, we still have the freedom to choose what we put inside our bodies. I am thankful that I have a healthy family. We live in a safe, family-friendly area. We have a great group of friends and family who love and support us. The list of things to be thankful for could go on and on. 

I find it incredible that Jesus died to give us the freedom to be thankful no matter what may be going on in our lives. I was reminded today that we are to trust in the Lord no matter what may be going on. We are to trust him and not look at ourselves for the answers. Our understanding of what is going on is skewed. We can’t see the full picture. We can’t see how God is going to turn the ship around and rescue those who are drowning. There is no way to see clearly because we can’t see clearly what is going on in the spiritual realm. Trust me, there is a ton of activity going on in the spiritual realm right now. 

An Interesting Experience

In fact let me share a couple of experiences I had last Friday:

When I got up this morning I heard lots of wind outside. It was like the kind of wind we got in Albuquerque. It reminded me of hurricane-type winds. I thought how unusual it is for us to have that kind of wind and thought, “Maybe this is the beginning of God moving since nature always seems to react first.” I got up and looked out the window. The trees were perfectly still. Not even a breeze could be seen. Even as I stood there, I could still hear the strong wind. I thought it was strange until I told Brett, and he said it was likely spiritual wind. 

Each day the Lord puts a song in my head. I call it the song of the day. Today’s song of the day was Peace by We the Kingdom. I listened to that and then read my daily Bible passage.

 Here is part of what I read that morning:

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:15-17‬ (‭ESV‬‬)

I was reminded right then and there to be thankful, even though I felt lost and wondering what was going to happen in our near future. 

As we were getting ready, Brett and I were talking about our friend who died. We also were talking about the new requirements Biden wants to put on businesses to force people to get the shot or be tested every week. I was upset about all this, so I picked specific worship songs to listen to while we drove to south Austin for an appointment. 

As I was driving down the highway, I was listening to the songs “God You’re so Good,” “Peace,” and then “Jireh” came on. As the final song was starting, I could hear the sound of drums beating: boom, boom, boom. It was a deep sound. It sounded like it was coming from outside and above my car. I thought maybe it was from the song, but it had a completely different beat. Then I heard God say, “Boom, boom, boom. Do you hear it? It’s the sound of my war drums.”

We Have The Freedom To Trust

Even though we may not see anything happening right away in the physical, there is a ton of activity going on in the spiritual. Our job is to trust God no matter what. Trust that he will give people jobs when needed. We trust that even if Biden’s new requirements for maintaining work are passed, God will take care of us. He is our provider, not some company. God is trustworthy to redeem all that the enemy has taken from us over the past year and a half. He will turn all of this around for our good and for his glory. Do you believe it? I do, even when my emotions tell me otherwise. 

Remember, Jesus died to give us the freedom to be thankful in all circumstances. He also gives us the freedom to trust him in all circumstances. I choose to sow the seeds of trust and thankfulness because I know without a doubt those seeds will produce sweet, delicious fruit! In fact, it is absolutely his will for my life.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)