Thanksgiving in the Midst of a StormSample

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

If someone told you when you got saved that everything would be easy from now on and that you’d skip through life on flowery beds of ease, they lied (sorry!).

No, we have an enemy in the earth (1 Peter 5:8). We live on an earth with a curse – we can’t be surprised when storms and troubles come our way. But as children of the Living God, we can rise above them! We can come out on top and keep our joy all along the way! We have all the power we need to be overcomers in the midst of any and all storms.

So what do we do when the going gets tough? Ephesians 5:17-21 tells us what the will of the Lord is:

• ·be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit,
• ·speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord
• ·giving thanks always for all things unto the god and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
• ·submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God

It’s good to check up on yourself using these verses, especially in the midst of a storm. This is the will of the Lord for you.

Ask yourself: “Am I doing these things? Am I staying filled? Do I have a song in my heart? Am I constantly thankful? Am I submitting to others and being teachable? This is God’s will for me!”

Romans 12:11 says, in different versions, “Be glowing in spirit…be on fire with the spirit…maintain the glow.” Acts 4:23-31 says the church was being persecuted, but as they prayed in the midst of trouble, signs and wonders followed. It just goes to show that when the devil turns up the heat, we can burn brighter in the spirit!

God wants us to maintain the glow, have a song in our heart, give thanks even when things are hard. When you live for God, sometimes you have to swim upstream. It’s not always easy. Second Timothy 2:3 says, “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Anyone can give thanks and maintain their glow when things are easy. But the Bible says we can thank God for His goodness even in the midst of hard times. It’s just another opportunity to exercise our faith, believe Him, and watch Him work!