Thankful in the Midst of Suffering

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In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1 Thessalonians 5:18


The Bible encourages us to always be thankful. That's easy when God answers prayer and delivers us from problems. But it isn't always easy when things go wrong. So how can we remain thankful in the midst of suffering?

We have two choices to make. The first is to praise God in spite of what's going on in our lives. Or another way to say that is, in the midst of our troubles and hardships, we can rejoice over the things that are not wrong in our lives. 

The second choice is to ask, "God, what can I learn from this? What do You want to teach me through this so that I may be closer to You and rejoice more fully in Your goodness?" Those are not easy questions, and the answers are often hard to hear. 

Sometimes we can only grasp the important lessons in our lives when we go through difficult times. Thank God that the hard times will lead you to better things. 

In the midst of suffering, give thanks to God and trust Him to lead you to bigger and better things. 

Culled from Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily Devotional

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