Good Monday morning! The winter may return this evening, but for today we have the sunrise. While I await the day, I wondered this morning if I have ever thanked God properly for the things I have. No, not those things, but those other things - the ones I see as problems to be prayed over. Have I ever thanked God for the insurance payment, the phone bill, the credit card bill, the bank that charges the steep interest on the one side but pays so little on the savings side, or even the physical problems I feel? That sounds a bit like thanking God for a list of my complaints. Surely that cannot be the right thing to do.
James reminds us to count it all as joy when we fall into various tribulations. Paul told us to rejoice in the Lord always. The apostles made no exception for paying bills or going to the doctor's place. We are reminded to give thanks to God for the times that giving thanks might be furthest from our minds. Mostly we like to thank God when the doctor thing is over, especially if the doc managed to cure something. Do we often remember to thank God for the tribulation contained in the pain or only for the cure?
Thank you dear Lord, my Father in Heaven, for the wonderful things I learn in patient endurance of my tribulations. Thank you dear God for the tribulations in life, no matter how humiliating they may seem at the time. Thank you, dear Jesus for being with me at all times, even those so painful that I forget to thank you in the moment. Amen.
Bucky
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