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Give Thanks In All Circumstances

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Gratitude - 1 Thessalonians 5:18- Give Thanks In All Circumstances - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Gratitude – 1 Thessalonians 5:18- Give Thanks In All Circumstances – Growing As Disciples

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.                        1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

You Are With Me

This seems like a really hard thing to do. What’s that? I don’t know how I will ever be able to give thanks when bad things happen to me or to the people I love and care about. Is that what you think I want you to do? Do you really think I want you to give thanks for terrible things that happen in life? You don’t? No, that would be really weird, don’t you think? Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. Yes, I know. Let me clear this up for you. I’d like that a lot.

I don’t want you to give thanks for every circumstance that you find yourself in. You will find yourself in some terrible circumstances in life. Yes, I know. You live in a sinful and broken world. Sin has corrupted the world and everything in it. Bad things can and do happen to good people. You know that. Yes, I certainly do. In every circumstance I want you to give thanks to me. You do? Yes, I do.

Why do you think that you can still give thanks to me in the midst of terrible circumstances? I’m not sure. What do you know about terrible circumstances and me? You are with me in the midst of all my circumstances. Yes, I am. I am never alone in the pain that I feel or the loss that I experience. No, you are not. You feel my pain and weep when I weep. Yes, I do.

You are never more near me than when I am feeling broken hearted about something. Yes, that’s true. Some of the closest and most intimate moments I’ve spent with you have been when I’ve been experiencing great pain. I have never left you alone, have I? No, you haven’t. Is that something to rejoice and give thanks about? Yes Lord, it is.

What have I been able to do with terrible circumstances? You have been able to bring about good in my life even when something really terrible has happened. Like what? You have grown my faith and trust in you when I have gone through great difficulties. You have deepened my prayers as I have cried out to you. Aren’t those outcomes worth rejoicing and giving thanks? Yes Lord, they are.

What do you know about this life and terrible circumstances? This life is short. It is like the blink of an eye or a snap of the fingers or even a mist that is here one second and gone the next. Yes, but what do you have to look forward to? I have living forever in heaven with you to look forward to. Has the pain and suffering in this life ever caused you to think more about living forever in heaven with me? Yes, it has. Isn’t that a cause to rejoice and give thanks for even in very difficult circumstances? Yes Lord, it is.

Do you think that you can now rejoice in every circumstance you will face in life? Yes Lord, I know that I can rejoice because you are with me. Yes, I am.

Lord, help me to give thanks in all the difficult circumstances I will face in life. Thank you for drawing near to me when I have been broken hearted. Thank you for bringing about good even when I have felt pain, suffering and loss. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Gratitude – 1 Thessalonians 5-18 – Give Thanks In All Circumstances – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                                     Copying not permitted                                            www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Pray Continually

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Prayer - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Pray Continually - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Pray Continually – Growing As Disciples

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

All Circumstances

Now that’s a word to consider. What word? Circumstances, you don’t like difficult circumstances. Does anyone like difficult circumstances? You have a point there, but most people don’t know what you know. What do I know? What has happened to you when you have gone through difficult circumstances? I’m not sure how to answer your question. Then I will ask you more questions. I’m listening. When have you felt closest to me? When have you drawn nearest to me? When have you know that I was drawing nearest to you? Have you felt closest to me when everything is going smoothly? I wouldn’t say so. What would you say? I would say that sometimes I have been quite distant from you when I thought things were going smoothly. Why is that? I’m sorry to say that in those times I may have thought or felt that I didn’t need you quite as much. Was that good thinking on your part? No, it was not. I have learned that there is never a time or place in which I don’t need you. That’s good.  So, when have you most strongly felt my nearness to you? I have most strongly felt your nearness to me when things have been going terribly wrong. I have most strongly felt your nearness to me when I have been going through heart breaking difficulty. There has never been a more true statement than, “you are close to the brokenhearted.” How important is it that you know that? It is vitally important that I know that you are with me to help me through every difficulty in life. See, you do know something. How does it make you feel to know that I am with you to help you through every difficulty in life? I feel joyful and thankful that you are with me to help me. Are you telling me that it is possible to be joyful and thankful as you go through difficulties in life because you know that I am with you through every one of them? That’s right. That’s very good. Yes, it  is.

What else has happened to do you as you have gone through great difficulties? I have drawn near to you. I have come to rely on you. I have prayed. I have asked for your help. Have I helped you? Yes, you have helped me. You have never left me alone. You have never abandoned me. No, I have not. Has your hope and faith and trust in me grown as you have gone through great difficulties? Yes, it has. Wait a minute, are you telling me that you know your praying to me as you have gone through great difficult  has caused your hope and faith and trust in me to grow? That’s right. That is very good. Yes, it is. Will you keep on praying joyfully and thankfully as you go through difficulties in life? Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good. 

Lord, I’m not a fan of difficult circumstances. It has been hard for me to pray through all the difficult circumstances of life. Yet, I will keep on joyfully and thankfully praying to you because I know that you will use every difficulty to accomplish your work in me. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5-16-18 – Pray Continually – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com