Give Thanks.

       Thanksgiving is this week. The holiday is centered around thankfulness. It is a time when we give thanks to God for everything he has given to us. I am so incredibly thankful for what he has blessed me with. He has given me the chance to go to Peru twice, and to get to go to Costa Rica and Belize next summer to do his work. He has given me wonderful friends, a roof over my head, and many other things. I know for a fact that I am a favored child of God. He has blessed me so much. 

       Sometimes however, I don't feel as thankful as I should. Instead of thanking God I question him. I wonder why certain things happen to me. I don't appreciate the things he has given me. I want to do things my way instead of his way. I wonder why he has placed me in the position that I am in. I wonder why he stuck me where I am. I wonder why things don't turn out how I feel like they should. I wonder why I feel so trapped. I don't understand why I feel so heartbroken. 

       "Why" is a stupid question. "Why" gets in the way of everything. "Why" forces us to dwell on the things we can't control. "Why" lets the devil in. When we ask "Why" we start to doubt. We doubt God's love for us. We doubt that he cares about us. Instead of asking "Why" we need to ask "What's next?" God has a plan. His plan is so incredibly perfect that we can't comprehend its greatness. God is great and perfect, so his plans are great and perfect. He knows what's best when we don't. 

       Even in the hard times we should thank God. We should thank God for every breath we breathe in. We should thank God for every sunrise we wake up to. We should thank God for every day that we live, because it could very well be our last. No matter how bad things get, God is with us every step of the way. He loves us so much that he wants to be with us. We are his children. No matter what we do, he will still love us. 

       So I am thankful for the oxygen in my lungs. I am thankful that I can sing praises to my wonderful God. I am thankful that he gives me hope. I am thankful that he lets me keep waking up. I am thankful that I can live in a place where I can freely worship him. I am thankful that I am safe. I am thankful that I have been set free. I am thankful that my God will hold me in his arms when I just need to cry. I am thankful that when things get tough he will carry me. I am thankful that he leads me every step of the way. When things fall apart, my God is the only thing holding me together, and for that I give thanks. 

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. (Psalm 7:17)