I Give Thanks

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

Everything changed in the instant you came into my heart. I was no longer alone. I was no longer bound in the lies of my past, but redeemed with the truth of your grace. In that moment I knew your love. I was forgiven no matter what I had done or been. You looked past all that I had ever known and claimed me as your own. Now I am at peace no matter what happens. You carry me safely through circumstances that try to destroy me. Your Word tells me to give thanks in all circumstances because that is your will for me. Those hard circumstances attempt to tear at the faith you have imparted. They try to make me question your love for me. But you know that their real purpose is to give strength and teach praise. Your will for me is to always give thanks no matter what comes in my life. You desire praise to constantly claim my heart. You desire my praise to always rise no matter what happens. In the praise I find you. You walk with me each day, but more incredibly and wonderfully you live inside me. It is your heart that lives in me, and it is your forgiveness that flows. I have none of my own. You make all the difference. You make my life complete, and for that I cannot give you enough thanks. You are my life, and my Savior. I love you, Jesus, for loving me beyond measure—beyond anything my limited mind can imagine. You just are, and in your constant promise, I am fulfilled. I give thanks.

-Lynn Hampton Lacher