Thank You, Lord Jesus!

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.” Psalm 100:4

I took a short walk today. It is a beautiful day outside, sunny and 56 degrees. As I walked, I praised and worshipped the Lord. I found myself thanking Him for His goodness. I thanked Him for such a wonderful day, especially given that it is November. I thank God for what He has given me. He has given me salvation from my sins. He has baptized me in the Holy Ghost. He has delivered me from certain ruin with alcohol. He gave me a beautiful wife, and three beautiful kids with one more on the way. We have a roof over our heads, heat and electricity, and running water. We have transportation. God has been good to us. I thank Him for all that He has done.

But I also thank Him for what He has allowed me to endure. I thank Him because He has been developing godly character in me. He has been giving me a greater faith in Him. He has been pouring out His love in my heart. He has used the trials and difficult times to make me more like Him.

I thank Him for the lessons He has taught me about a father’s love through my own children. I thank Him for the patience that He is still forming in me, again, through my kids. I thank Him for bringing my wife and I even closer to Him and each other through seven years of marriage.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in every thing, for this is the will of God in Christ concerning us. We must remember that God is using every situation we find ourselves in for our good. So let us give Him thanks today, because even though we can’t understand what the Lord Jesus is doing all of the time, we can rejoice because no matter what, He is using the situation to make us into the men and women of God that He has called us to be. God bless!