In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

You want to be someone who says YES to God. It's the motivating factor of your life, isn't it? Yet, there may be an aspect of saying YES to God that you hadn't quite contemplated yet.

Don't stop reading now! I promise you, this will be worth it! Part of being a person who says YES is to cultivate grateful. I know! That's tough, right? It's easy to look at our circumstances sometimes and excuse ourselves from gratefulness. I mean, look at how tough everything is! Maybe it's your finances or your relationships. Maybe it's your own health or the health of someone you love. Maybe your job is wearing you out. Maybe you feel like you have been giving your all for God and getting nothing back. "If God is supposed to work out all things for good in my life (Romans 8:28), then why do so many things seem to be bad?" you may be saying.

I don't want to minimize anything that you are going through. It's tough, and that's the truth. However, I want to park on a verse from the Bible that may help you get some perspective on what you are going through and help you get to a new level of YES. Are your ready? Are you willing?

Here we go: "In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:18 NASB)

IN everything. Let's start there. It's important to note that little word, IN. It doesn't say FOR everything. There are some things it would just make no sense to thank God for. But IN. Now that's different! I can thank God IN my financial difficulty. I can thank God IN my health crisis. I can thank God IN my relational trauma. I can thank God IN the midst of just about anything.

Why? Because God's goodness and character don't change even when my circumstances do. He remains the same. He remains faithful. He remains loving. He remains powerful. He remains God.

In EVERYTHING. Everything? Really?! What about....? You fill in the blank. Yes, even that. Saying YES to God means thanking Him in the midst of that unnameable, unexplainable, unimaginable, unpardonable, unwanted circumstance. Not FOR, but IN EVERYTHING.

God is for you. I don't know why God allowed that situation to come into your life. I can't explain it. I can't defend it. But I can remind you, Dear One, that the Father who allowed it sees the end from the beginning. He knows how it is going to turn out and He is with you in the midst of it and working for your best interest. He really is. Why?

Because, at the end of the day, the thing that matters most, the thing you and I most need to remember about God, is that He is a God of love. He IS love. (1 John 4:8) Whatever He does, whatever He allows, whatever He doesn't do, is motivated by His love. That is something we can be grateful for. IN EVERYTHING.

Key thought: Cultivate grateful IN everything.

A Scripture to Consider: In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

A YES challenge: Is there any circumstance you have found yourself grumbling about? How can you cultivate grateful today?

Prayer: Lord, You know what I am going through. I don't like it and I wish it wasn't happening, but it is. Help me to remember Your unfailing, never-ending, overflowing love even IN this. I choose to give You thanks today. Amen.

August 8, 2026

A - C = P: Anxiety - Control = Peace (Repost)

'Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. ‘Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

I was listening to a podcast when I heard a quote that brought so much clarity, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Here it is: “Anxiety results from wanting to control something God has not given us to control.” I didn’t remember the name of the person or why she was on the podcast, but what she said made so much practical sense. (I looked it up later. So, if you are interested, it was Joanna Weaver’s podcast, The Living Room, and the guest was Sharon Hodde Miller, author of The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises Us.) As I pondered her statement, a formula took shape in my brain, “A – C = P,” Anxiety – Control = Peace. Easy to remember and a goal worth aiming for.

Anxiety is something we all experience. Anxiety steals peace and commands focus. Whether it’s something personal about your family, or a job, or something broader like politics and the world situation, anxiety creeps up behind us, leaps upon us and gets us in a stranglehold. Ever feel that way?

Your brain goes in circles, trying to resolve something you are powerless to resolve. You can’t sleep and every waking moment is consumed with mental and practical fruitless attempts to solve the problem. Suddenly, it seems like nothing else is happening in your life. What started as a thought becomes a huge shadow. What do you do?