November 2013 Articles

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Spiritual Corner:

Spiritual Corner: It’s easy to be thankful when things are going well in our lives. We continually talk about how blessed we are and how great our God is when everything seems to be right on track, just the way we want it. However, it seems that as soon as our lives take a negative spin, we begin to forget how blessed we are. We start to complain and gripe or whine about our problems. We wonder where God is and why He is letting all of this happen to us. I’m sure we all can relate to this; I know that I definitely can. So today, for this Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you, as well as myself. Let us all be thankful for our blessings, but let us all also be thankful for the hard times in our lives. Let’s try and look more closely at the disappointments and heartaches that we encounter and try and see something positive in them. We will never understand God’s plan along the way, but we can be joyful and thankful throughout this life as He leads us each step of the way. I know from experience that this can be a hard feat. However, God calls us to be joyful and thankful at all times as he says in 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” And just think how much happier we would be if we started noticing the positive things in every situation instead of dwelling on the negatives. We may sometimes think it’s unfair what God is doing, but let’s remember what is said in Job 1:21: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” God gave us everything to begin with. He doesn’t owe us anything. If He wants to take away one of the gifts He’s given us for His own reasons, then we have no right to complain. He allowed us to have that blessing for a period of time and so we should be thankful. Now if you try and try and look and look and still can’t find something positive in a negative experience or situation, remember this: Any negative situation can help bring you closer to God and strengthen your relationship with Him. No matter the situation, if you turn to God, you will be blessed through the negative experience. And strengthening your relationship with God is truly the greatest blessing of all. So this Thanksgiving, let’s remember to be thankful for all our blessings, but let’s also thank God for our hardships. And let’s remember that we don’t need a designated holiday to be thankful; being thankful should be an everyday way of life and attitude. Happy Thanksgiving to all! By Dana Bennett