Give Thanks

I learned a long time ago to heed the counsel found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18; that I didn't have to thank God for all circumstances, but I needed to develop the mindset of thanking Him in all circumstances. Whew!!  I didn't have to thank Him for cancer but I needed to find ways to thank Him as I went through cancer.  Who in their right mind could be thankful for cancer??  And then, just as I got my brain around that issue, along comes Ephesians 5:20, telling me to give thanks always for cancer!  (Well.... sort of. It says to give thanks for all things, and cancer is certainly a "thing".) So...which one to heed?

C.H.P., whoever he or she was, helped me to understand my dilemma this morning.  "Therefore you can thank God for everything that comes, not for the sin of it, but for what God will bring out of it and through it.......There are many black dots and black spots in our lives and we cannot understand why they are there or why God permitted them to come.  But if we let God come into our lives and adjust the dots in the proper way, and draw the lines He wants, and separate this from that, and put in the rests at the proper places; out of the black dots and spots in our lives He will make a glorious harmony....."-C.H.P. (Streams in the Desert-Classic Edition).  I get it!

Splitting hairs?  Maybe, but each instruction has its place in the circumstances of my life.  I needn't attempt to combine the two smaller gems into one large gem; I can let each gem shine on its own merit. I can, from my heart, give thanks both in and for our journey through cancer.

"....Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."-1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV).

"...always giving thanks to God for everything, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."-Ephesians 5:20 (The Message).

On the health front:

No news is good news😊