In EVERYTHING Give Thanks

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Thess. 5:18. That is a great verse and I think it has been my motto this year. The only thing I have a problem with in the verse is the word everything. It is easy to be thankful for the good things and the neutral things, but not so easy for the negative things. And I'll be honest, this year has brought a host of negative things. I'm not complaining, just being honest. This has been a tough ol' year. Not just for me, but most people I know. And yet, God's Word tells us we must be thankful for these things, no matter how negative. There have been problems with marriages in my church, a general apathy and carelessness in the attitudes of some of our people, and a disunity among some. I dare not leave town, because everytime I have left town this year, I returned to a major crisis to deal with. I'm not going anywhere for a good long time! But, in EVERYTHING give thanks, and so I will. There have been personal problems to deal with as well as dealing with my grandson Bryce's rare genetic disease. We just learned that my wife Deb needs a partial knee replacement. Needless to say, she is not looking forward to that! And yet, in EVERYTHING give thanks, and so we will. I don't want to leave the impression that everything was negative this year. We have seen many people saved through the City Union Mission and State Hospital services. We praise the Lord for these victories. We may not be able to give thanks FOR everything, but we can give thanks IN everything.