Repost: Joy Comes In The Morning/Give Thanks In All Circumstances
This week, I’m going on vacation with my family. I thought I’d take this opportunity to republish some old posts from the archives. Feel free to leave comments here or on the original post. Enjoy, I’ll be back next week!
Today’s post was originally posted in October 2010 as two separate posts. Both posts were written at a pretty crazy time in my life. My wife was in the hospital, my blood pressure was spiking, and I was running on fumes. It’s great to look back to see where I’ve been and to realize how God has been faithful to me along the journey.
JOY COMES IN THE MORNING
Life is interesting and crazy and all other kinds of adjectives. I’m thankful for it, despite the roller coaster ride that I’ve been on as of late. If things could get a little crazier yesterday, they did. I was on my way to the doctor’s office yesterday morning for a follow-up checkup for my blood pressure (great timing), when my daughter calls me from her cell phone…”Dad, the basement’s flooded.” I told her, “OK, well I’ll check it when I get home. There’s nothing I can do about it now.” When I hung up the phone, I asked aloud, “God, I don’t think I can take too much more right now.” Needless to say, my blood pressure reading was a little high when I got to the doctor’s office. It’s nothing to get overly concerned about, but I have to go back again in three months for another follow-up.
At any rate, so far today has been fine. I’m relearning to take each day one at a time. This morning, I was reading in Psalms 30, and I was reminded of the joy that comes in the morning.
1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in my destruction,
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
O LORD, be my help.”
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
So as an addendum to my previous post, we spent the afternoon cleaning up the basement – throwing away carpet, using the shop-vac to soak up the water, drying out some things, and throwing some things away. Tonight, I had to laugh when Isaac prayed at dinner time, “…dear God, thank you that we got to clean the basement….” My kids loved it that we got to clean the basement. Isaac reminded me of a few verses in I Thessalonians 5.
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Learning to be joyful always and to give thanks in all circumstances isn’t always easy. I feel like my kids have been great examples for me. Their faith is amazing. Their ability to be thankful for things that drive me crazy is incredible. My kids remind me over and over to make lemonade out of the lemons of life. I am blessed beyond words.
What “disasters” are you thankful for today?