Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. —1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
It was one of those grumbling days. You know the ones. Days when a lost backpack makes you late for school drop-off. When there is nothing left in the fridge except for an old apple and an almost-empty gallon of milk. When appointments are missed, plans get canceled, important documents get lost. I texted my husband that nothing was going right. That I was in a bad mood. And that I was tired of the frazzled, crazy, lukewarm way I was feeling. Then I opened up Facebook.
My friend Sarah, the one battling breast cancer, the one who laughed as her husband shaved her balding head, had posted on Facebook about reading Corrie ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place. There is a story in the book in which Corrie and her sister stand together in the middle of their desperation and thank God for the fleas in their room. In her own post, Sarah gave thanks for her own “fleas”—for the cancer that had changed every “what should have been” in her life, that had stolen her hair, her health, her way of living. Yet she was thankful. Because God had used those “fleas” to help her to trust in Him.
Get your copy of Daily Guideposts 2019 here.
So I got onto my knees and thanked God for my own fleas. For mistakes, for problems, for niggling issues that seem to overtake my days. And while my “fleas” aren’t nearly as awful as those of Sarah or Corrie ten Boom, I know that God wants me to be grateful, not grumbling, no matter what circumstances come my way.
Lord, help me to be thankful even for the “fleas” in my life so that I can honor You and find hope in Your grace. Amen.
Digging Deeper: 1 Chronicles 16:34; Colossians 3:15
