Pastor Brian has been teaching about “being thankful” or “giving up”…  I keep reminding myself of the verse he shared about “giving thanks in all circumstances.” 

In all circumstances?… okay; how do we think of something to be thankful for when someone so dear to you is going through something horrible.  Maybe you are the one going something extremely horrible.  How do we think of something to be thankful for when we are right smack dab in the middle of it?  When your heart is aching in hurt or despair, when you can’t imagine one more struggle, when you wonder… “why me?”

I happen to know someone who is going through something extremely horrible.  My heart aches for this person so much that I find myself thinking about their situation daily.  When you really care for someone and love them, hearing horrible news can crush your spirit and leave you grieving for them. 
 I have to be honest, my spirit has been crushed and I’m tired of it.  Today I had a harder day than normal in dealing with yucky news.  I was talking to the Lord and I was telling him that I don’t understand why I have to ache so bad… let alone I can only imagine how that person is feeling?  I’m a happy go lucky person, I want to get back to that! 

I then continued to ask the Lord to comfort me and to give me something through all this that I can find peace in, something that will lift this burden… something to be thankful for.  All day long I felt stuck.  I felt as though I was going to be in despair about this situation for a long time and I felt like I didn’t see an end to it, BUT… finally something happened. 

I was driving home late tonight and I was praying, not really knowing what to say because I felt stuck; when all of a sudden I prayed…

“Thank you Lord for thinking so much of me, that you knew I could be a beacon of hope for this person.  Thank you Lord for being confident in me that I would have the strength I’d need with your help to be a support to this person.”  

You see, no matter what we go through… good or bad; God has a purpose and plan for our lives!  Whether the road is awesome the whole way through or whether we have bumps in the road… He thinks so highly of us that He would choose us and work through us for His purpose “which is for the good!”   Wow… what an honor, that’s something to be proud of!  I was so overwhelmed by God’s love for me.   I felt so important, so valuable and in a moment I was restored.  That burden was lifted and I was given a new confidence to press on.  How amazing is our God! 

For those of you who are personally going through something terrible, I believe God shared this prayer for you… 

“Thank you Lord for thinking so much of me that someday I might be a testimony of hope and a support to others in similar situations.  And thank you Lord for having so much confidence in me because you know that I will have the strength with your help to overcome this situation.”  Now that is something to be thankful for!

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Guess what guys… I’m not giving up!  I’m thankful because God have given me a purpose!  How special am I!