“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise His name.”  Psalms 100:4 (NLT)

What a beautiful sunrise this morning! Thank You, God, for the colors of the sunrise and the fresh, new day! I love sunrises. They provide an early day opportunity to thank God for that moment of joy we experience when we see the beauty He creates.

God’s love is everlasting and God is always working for our good. There are so many chances to thank God for His work in our lives. When things are going well for us and we are succeeding at work or at home, when our children and friends are all getting along, when our plans come together without issues, or when we safely travel; it is easy to thank God and give him the credit for all the positive things in our lives. I don’t know how many times a day I say, “Thank you, Lord!” under my breath as things (that might have been much tougher) work out easily.

But do we still thank God when the troubles come into our lives? It is much harder to thank God when things are rough or don’t work out well. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:18, Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. We definitely have to work harder. But we can be thankful that God is with us, even when we are angry or discouraged. We can be thankful that we have God to share our pain and that He can ease our burdens. We can be thankful for the path that God is choosing for us even though our planned path may not working out.

These tough times strengthen us and our faith as we choose to be thankful even in the most difficult of situations. We learn patience with God’s plan and trust in His timing in our lives. As I began this writing journey, I was excited and motivated after my initial calling. But then nothing really seemed to fall into place easily; it was a lot of work and my efforts did not always yield the results I wanted. But as I continued, and thanked God regularly for His guidance and purpose, things did begin to align. In God’s time, not mine! We must practice thankfulness in all things until it becomes a beautiful habit!

This week try to thank God even when something is not going exactly as you would like. Work to find something in that difficult situation for which to thank God! You will be blessed!

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me as we choose to thank God in all circumstances and build our habit of thankfulness.

Blessings and joy as you give thanks and praise to God!