The following was recorded live in our Every Day Incredible Ladies Facebook group.
Good evening, ladies! As we’re getting started, I just wanted to share some updates with you. I wanted to say we’ve got some exciting things coming in the New Year, maybe in December – but it involves a new book that’s coming out and I’m not going to say a whole lot more about that yet, but then also some in-person workshops. I’ve posted some about that in the group so if your church or your women’s group is interested in hosting one of those, then just let me know and I’ll talk about the details of that with you.
With that said, I wanted to share with you, for our breath prayer tonight and the thoughts for this evening.
I want to share with you about something that happened a few days ago. I was making some coffee and I somehow got it a little too strong. I’m not sure, maybe I just took it out before it was finished. I don’t remember now, but I thought I would add a little bit of water. I don’t usually do that, but I thought I’d just add a little bit more (hey Lisa!) and well, I did. As I did that, I was just praying about some things that were going on and I was praying out loud and I was saying, “Thank you, God for what I know you’re about to do in this situation, I trust that you’re working in it.” As I was thanking God for the good that I know is coming, somehow the lid to the pitcher slipped off and I don’t know how. My finger was even on it, but somehow it slipped off and water went everywhere. It poured into my coffee cup and splashed coffee all over the counter, all over the front of cabinets, all over the floor… I don’t know how, but it even splashed coffee back into the pitcher somehow. I don’t know how that happened because it’s one of those filter pitchers that just has like one little opening in it… anyway, somehow it did, and I even had coffee in in my water pitcher. But I had to laugh because as I was praying and thanking God for the good that is coming, that happened, and I laughed and said, “well, thank you still for the good that is coming!” Even though I had this huge big mess to clean up because I know sometimes it can be really easy to- in the past I would have been really upset by that. That’s kind of evidence that God’s been doing a lot of work in me- just being able to thank God anyway, even though things that maybe aren’t fun happen.
This week, what I want to challenge each of you to do, no matter what happens, if you are at family gatherings and maybe there potentially could be some tension at family gatherings sometimes, or whatever may be happening, but thank God anyway.
The verse that I wanted to share is 1st Thessalonians 5:18. It says, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” With that verse, I often think about , if any of you are familiar with Corrie ten Boom, One of my all-time favorite books is The Hiding Place. In the book, there’s one part of it where Corrie and her sister are in the concentration camp and as they’re praying and thanking God for what He’s doing for them and how He’s protecting them and Betsy, Corrie’s sister, reminded her to thank God even for the fleas.
This place was just overrun with fleas and it was miserable. Corrie said, “I’m not thanking God for fleas.” Betsy reminded her, “no, scripture says to give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus.” She reminded her of that and she reluctantly said, “Okay, fine. Thank you God for the fleas.” Kind of just to appease her sister. Later on, she found out that the reason they were able to have Bible studies with all the women in the concentration camp- the reason they were able to give them hope was because the guards wouldn’t come into that room because of the fleas. They really had a reason to be thankful because the fact that the fleas were there gave him the freedom to be able to praise God and share that hope with all the women in the concentration camp. It gives me chills to think about, it but it just it’s amazing how even the things that, on the surface and in the physical world, we feel like are very overwhelming and discouraging and it’s “bad things” … thank God anyway. Find something in that to thank God for, even if it’s, “thank you for whatever you’re about to do.”
If you can’t think of anything specific, simply say, thank you for what you’re about to do.
I’ve found this to be so powerful, especially in the last few years. It’s like when we have something major come up, and you guys know that back in the summer, I had a series of a back to back events that happened over a couple of months that were just … it was just a lot of stuff to get through. But, with each thing to happen, we’d pray, ”Okay, God, thank you for what you’re about to do in this, for making this into a blessing in some way,” and He did! It amazes me how even in those tough things, even though things when we don’t see where His hand is working, just trusting that He’s still got a plan, that He still loves us, whatever His plan is, you could trust that it’s a loving plan because we know that He has plans to prosper us and no
t to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future, and that’s not a little thing. That’s something that we can rely on.
If you believe that Scripture is true, it means all of it is true, so when you’re thanking Him in advance for whatever He’s about to do, you’re trusting Him. You’re saying, “God, I don’t see how you’re going to work, but I trust that you are God and you know the story much better than I ever could. Thank you.”
I want to encourage you this week to give thanks, but not just for the good things. Thank God in whatever situation comes up If you have something bad that happens, make sure to thank God anyway. Thank God for whatever He’s about to do.
I would love to hear what things you are thankful for in the group, so free to share it there! Keep encouraging one another like you have been doing. I love seeing you all praying for each other and just encouraging one another, and I would love to see that continue to happen.
I hope you guys have a wonderful wonderful Thanksgiving week and good evening. I will talk to you guys soon, hope you have a wonderful, wonderful evening! Don’t forget to check out http://diggingdeeper.EveryDayIncredible.net if you haven’t checked that out already. I’ll talk to you soon!