Make A DecisionSample

Prayer: Lord, I humbly come to you today with a heart of gratitude. Thank you for giving me hope through Jesus, and for working all things for your good. Help me to see how you have worked in my life, and guide me in learning how to be thankful in every circumstance. Thank you for what you’ve done and will continue to do in my life. I give all praise to you. Amen.

Open Hands

Six years ago, a family member of one of the people on our Grace College Staff found out that she was pregnant with twin boys after struggling with infertility. However, this joyful news soon became darkened by grief—it was discovered that one of the twins had a terminal condition that affected the development of his lungs. An hour after the twins were born, one son passed away. At her son’s funeral, as the song Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns played, she was seen with her hands held high in worship, tears streaming down her face. In that most painful moment of her life, the mother clung to her faith in Jesus, the source of her comfort in the face of crisis.

It’s easier to praise God and offer thanks when things are good, but the true test is when His plan differs from ours. If we reject the command of lifting everything up in praise to Him, as found in Hebrews 13:15, we harden our hearts to hearing God speak. We then get frustrated that we aren’t hearing from Him. God’s silence is not from Him, but because we have closed ourselves off from Him.

It's okay to ask, “Why?”—Jesus himself did so on the cross (Matthew 27:46). But the answer to the question is something we won't understand on this side of Heaven. Until then, He promises to meet us in our pain as we offer our praise (1 Corinthians 13:12).

When our prayers go “unanswered,” we assume it's God's lack of love or power. That's far from the truth. We can only see a sliver of what God is doing, so we must not walk away, but rely on our faith that His unseen goodness is at work. 

A time of thanksgiving, regardless of how strange it may feel, can lift your burdens and bring peace and confidence. Giving thanks doesn't guarantee anything, but allows us to remain calm and anticipate God's goodness regardless of the outcome. It releases us from the burdens of life and opens up our hearts to receive His grace. It reminds us of what we do have, and gives hope that God is working good in the unseen.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. What part of your life are you struggling to let God have control over? 
2. What is keeping you from being thankful for everything? 
3. What is one step you can take to give thanks in every situation?

What’s Next:

1. Think through hardships you’ve gone through. Then think how God has used those to shape your life and what He has brought because of those hardships. Write them down so you can look back on them later to see how He uses everything for His glory.