7 Things I Thank God in (not for)

My funk came out of nowhere and I forgot to thank God. Not for the funk. That would be insane, right? But in the craziness of normal life.

Example 1: I sent my water bill payment to the electricity company, and the water company threatened to turn off my H2O. 

Example 2: My cat tossed his cookies. And she boot-scooted, drawing criss-cross lines on the carpet. I’ll spare you a visual.

Example 3: Okay, this next one isn’t crazy but super stressful.

My college-age son, who lives 1,200 miles away, had to find a new place to stay fast. So I worried, and when I worry, I wake up a million times during the night, covers off, covers on, covers off. Not only that, my back tightens and my feet go all numb-y. Then I dwell on The Injury. And I fear a repeat.

Don’t Do What I Did

In the middle of my funk I focused on me. I failed to think about the all-powerful God who has my back. And I forgot to thank God.

But thanking God is his will!

Many times when I counsel hurting women they ask about God’s will for their lives, and we have rich conversations. I listen to their life story in the light of God’s redemptive plan for them. And it becomes clearer — God’s will.

Annie’s husband just lost his job. And she’s concerned but hopeful. Her husband’s a good guy, a harder worker, an amazing dad to their three kiddos. But now they don’t have health insurance. And the youngest needs physical therapy. And so she worried.

We opened to this snippet of Scripture:

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 2 Thessalonians 5:18

Instead, Thank God

Often I give a “thank God” assignment to counselees. For 20 minutes, they list everything going on in life: the vacation to Hawaii, a costly car repair, a kid’s high school graduation, a husband’s lost job, and so on. You’ll note “good” and “bad” stuff on the list.

Then we give thanks.

Lucy, are you nuts? How could anyone possibly thank God for the bad stuff, right? Click & Tweet!

But God says give thanks in all circumstances. In is not for. Really, who thanks God for cat barf and boot scoots? As we thank God in all circumstances, we recognize he’s is in control and knows exactly what we face. He is with us, in us. Thanking God becomes worship. Click & Tweet!

When Annie made her list and thanked God in her circumstances, her focus shifted from self to God and her worry disappeared.

My 7 Things (plus one)

Now let’s give it a go. List everything happening in life. I’ll share the first 7 that come to mind.

1. The pistachios I ate for lunch.
2. My messy desk.
3. Birds tweeting.
4. My daughter’s MS (yes, that).
5. Books!!!
6. Wednesday nights studying Revelation with 20 others.
7. Friends all over America but none near me in my new town.
8. BONUS: My husband — I really don’t deserve him.

As expected, when I wrote my list, my spirit lifted. Remembering God for the little things, even the hard things, helped put my circumstances in perspective, and thank him. I entered into worship.

May I encourage you to set your timer to 20 minutes and list everything going on in your life? You’ll probably get stuck 5 minutes in. This is normal. Don’t give up. Keep going. Then thank God in all circumstances.

Let me know how it goes.