Guest Devotional - Cherie Pacheco

"In EVERYTHING give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you." 1Thessalonians 5:18

Wait a minute God, do you really mean that I am to be thankful for the flattire? I am supposed to be thankful for the lost job and a mortgage payment that does not get paid? Thankful for a sick child? No, He says, you are to be thankful IN those circumstances. Being thankful is His will. He did not cause the circumstance, but He is definitely here to walk through it with you. Watch, you will see His will unfold. Be thankful and experience Him.

I Thessalonians 5:18 is my Father's life verse. I heard this verse - read this verse - watched this verse - and have learned to live it. Yes, watched it. I watched my Father and Mother both live their lives with the knowledge that God was sovereign. That God loves and in that loving sovereignty, there was nothing that could not be faced without a heart of gratitude.

I watched when times were hard and they struggled. Their heavy hearts still had an attitude of gratitude. Our God, the one they knew so personal, was real. God was faithful and they grew in their faith. That faith was contagious. Let your faith be contagious!

Please do not mistake this to say they - you - or I face every pain with a big smile on our face and say "yippee!" and all the pain goes away. But know that we can face every pain, every obstacle, every circumstance with a sense of adventure resting in the peace that God knows best.

God did not tell us to be happy in everything, He said be thankful in everything. It is easy to be grateful when we get what we want and life is going smooth. We should be. Be careful though, when things are going our way, it can be easy to take the credit ourselves and just go along patting ourselves on the back for doing such a great job and not be thankful.

We need to see God's hand and thank Him for every blessing - every joy - every pain - every hurt - every disappointment-ummmm... like He said - in everything! We can be grateful for everything because we KNOW that God's will is being worked out. We can be grateful for the opportunity to experience God's love- God's grace - God's forgiveness - God's joy - God's peace. Before long, I pray you will see everything in life as an opportunity to praise God and to grow in Him. Life with God is a Great Adventure!! Join me - catch the adventure...... In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning You!