Learning to Praise God in all things.

I am learning to praise God in all things. No matter the circumstances or the outcome. This is difficult when things don’t go the way I think they should. Scripture tells us, we are called to be thankful. To somehow maintain an attitude of gratitude. This is a hard lesson to learn when we cannot see the outcome. But just like prayer is a practice, so is our praise and thankfulness to God.

Why should we be thankful?

The Bible says this is God’s will for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 instructs us to, “Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Why would this be God’s will for us? What is the lesson?

“There is this Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy for what they called his “misfortune.”

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.”

The old farmer is somehow able to observe his life without jumping to conclusions. By maintaining confidence in his creator, he has learned to praise God in all things. By doing so, he keeps his peace. This man has found wisdom. Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better to get wisdom than gold,
    to get insight rather than silver!”

But where does this wisdom come from? 

Scripture tells us wisdom and understand come from God.

“For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

If we trust in the words of God, then we can be confident no matter what the day brings. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

My father was supposed to have back surgery today. Due to series of events, the surgery was cancelled. As his daughter, I was worried about the surgery. Although labeled ‘less invasive,” I was uneasy about the whole thing.

As I moved through the week, my emotions were all over the place. I cannot even imagine what my dad was going through. One day we prepared for surgery, the next we didn’t. Then it was on again and off again. Up and down. Needless to say, this lead to a pretty stressful week. In all honesty, I was not thankful. I did not maintain an attitude of gratitude. And I was in no mood to praise God.

But, we don’t truly know if something is going to turn out alright. We can’t predict any outcome of any particular situation. All we can do is trust God. By trusting God, we can then thank Him and praise His holy name.

So why should we praise God in all things?  

Philippians 4 gives us our answer. It reads; “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The old farmer knew this. God’s peace is worth more than anything else. Because of who God is, we praise him. We rejoice in God, giving thanks in all things.

I am still learning to praise God in all things. Sometimes it comes easy and sometimes, not so much. But, with anything, I will keep trying.

Let us pray: God of all that is, teach me to praise you in all things. Help me to be confident in who you are and trust You to take care of all my needs. In Jesus’ name, Amen. -M

Wanna go deeper? Practice being thankful today. Be mindful of the words that come out of your mouth. Are they uplifting or the opposite? Start a gratitude journal or even a new note on your phone entitled, “things I am thankful for.” See how many things you can find to praise God for today.