Be Thankful In All Circumstances - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

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I just finished reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom.  Wow, what an amazing story about an incredible Godly woman in an awful period in our history!  Some of you probably have read this book (tell me if you have read and liked it also), but I will give a brief background to this story.  The short synopsis is that the Ten Boom family lived in Holland during the German occupation during WWII.  They ran a safe house and underground transit operation to protect and shelter Jews who were being rounded up, imprisoned, tortured and killed by the Germans.  Well eventually the Germans uncovered their operation and sent most of the family to a concentration camp.  The conditions there were deplorable and the passage I want to cover today, takes place in one of those concentration camps.

The situation was this...  Corrie and her sister Betsie had just been moved to a new camp in Germany from Holland as the allies were closing in.  The living quarters were extremely crowded and were dirty, dank, and the straw on their beds was infested with biting fleas!!!  Betsy immediately began to pray to God to show them how they could possibly survive in these conditions.  Then she suddenly exclaimed "He has given us the answer in the passage we have just read this morning!"  They had just read today's passage that proclaimed that they ought to give thanks in ALL circumstances for that is God's will for them as believers.  So to the surprise of Corrie, Betsie started giving thanks to God for the biting fleas!  Betsie firmly believed that God had put them in this place so that he could work through them and reach prisoners and guards alike for his kingdom.  

If you have read the book, you already know that they changed thousands of lives for Christ.  In the barracks, Betsie and Corrie held Bible studies with the little Bible they had smuggled in.  And they always wondered why the guards never checked on them in the living quarters.  One day they found out that the reason the guards would not come into the living quarters was because they did not want to be infested with fleas!  So the fleas were protecting the women from the guards and were allowing them to witness to large numbers without harassment.

Sometimes it is hard to imagine what that generation had to endure.  For those of us who grew up post WWII, we can only guess at some of the hardships and burdens that they had to carry.  This story though, really hit home for me.  How many times do we go through tough times and pray to God to take us out of them?  How many times do we call out and feel like we just cannot go on?  Yes, we can and should ask God for deliverance from our trials, but we also need to stay keenly aware of the fact that God has probably put us in this situation to show his love to others and to further his kingdom.

I pray this week that we all will be ever joyful, never stop praying, and be thankful every day no matter what the circumstances.  Sharpen your senses to listen and see how God is going to use you this week!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!  

Family Update: I am back from my travels and my meetings were very successful.  Yesterday, Hannah went back to school, and Kay and Faith drove her there.  Today, Kay and Faith are visiting 2 colleges near Liberty to take tours and see if they are a fit for Faith next year.  Take care everyone!

Bible Trivia Question: (reply to me with your answers and I will give out gold stars in the next devotion. :)  )  In another of Paul's writings, he talks not about being thankful in all circumstances, but being content in all circumstances.  Which verse is this? And what is the important well-known closing message of that passage?