Despite Adversity, I am yet thankful
It is easy for us to complain about the things we do not have, complain about the things going wrong in our life, and complain about the pain, hurt, and disappointment we are currently feeling. It. is. Easy. We have conditioned our mind and heart to tap into the negative things surrounding us because we have believed that our lives should focus on the problems and not the blessings. We have conditioned our mind and heart to focus on things we can fix and the things we “think” we have control over because we believe that is what’s important. Think about it. When your washer and dryer goes out, your immediate reaction is to wonder how to fix the problem. Complain about the cost. Brainstorm ways to control the problem. We do not go straight to “Lord, even though the washer and dryer is broken, I yet thank you for the house we have and the ability to still wash and dry our clothes at a family’s house or laundry mat”. It is easy to fixate our mind on the problem instead of the victory.
Even though it is easy to focus on our adversities and our problems at hand so we can be ‘fixer-uppers”, it does not always feel good. It is important that we shift our focus on the things God has blessed us with. God has granted favor, mercy, and grace upon our lives in times we least expected it.
Even when we didn’t deserve it, he [God] granted us grace, mercy and favor!
In this season of Thanksgiving that we are encountering, I think of 3 things that I must be thankful for:
I must be thankful for what God has done, I must be thankful for what God is currently doing, and I must be thankful for what God has planned for me and my future.
Be thankful for what God has done. God has blessed me to graduate high school, attend TCU, graduate from TCU and get a good job, and the opportunity to attend TCU for graduate school. Even when I wanted to give up and throw in the towel, God spoke to the potential in me and the destiny he has predestined in me instead of what my life was exemplifying then.
Be thankful for what God is currently doing. Right now I am uncomfortable. God has a way of placing you in uncomfortable situations and circumstances, but his plan for the uncomfortable season is a grand indicator to the victory that is on the way. Even if your life feels like you are currently in the valley or if you currently feel like you are on top of the mountain, God’s divine purpose is sustaining you during this process. So we must trust him. I hold onto the scripture James 1:2-3 that says “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” and I really believe that word and begin praise God for the joy of what he has done and thankful for the trials.
Be thankful for what God has planned for you and your future. I thought I had my future figured out, but God has a funny way of telling you his plans and his will --- even when they do not line up with what you thought you had control over. But do not fear because Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future”.
Release the control, the fear, the doubt, and the frustrations you may have towards the uncertainty of the future you cannot see right now!
Use your spiritual lenses to connect to God’s glory that is waiting on you!