Daily Devotional – 11/30/12 “I’m forever thankful!”

Now, you would have thought that I’d be out of reasons to be thankful but nope, not in this lifetime! Yea, you’re questioning what else I could possibly have to be thankful for? Well, glad you asked so let me tell you. I’m thankful because I could be in a relationship with a man who finds joy in beating me but I’m not. I could be on a job that finds pleasure in belittling me but I’m not. I could be in a church that tries to hinder my praise but I’m not. I could be surrounded by friends who mean me no good but I’m not. I could find the solution to my problems at the bottom of a bottle but I don’t. I could find peace in my storm by shooting dope in my veins, up my nose or popping pills but I don’t. I could find a way to increase my finances by getting a few dollars from walking the streets at night but I don’t. I could lose sleep at night from having nightmares of being molested as a child but I don’t. I could pace the floor because my child is lost in the world but I don’t because my children are home. I could be contemplating suicide because of being depressed but I’m not. I could be drowning in credit card debt but I’m not. I could be gambling my check away but I’m not. I could be in worse shape than I am but I’m not so yes, I’m thankful. See, my pain could be worse, my heartache could be heavier, my hope could be low and my joy could be gone but it’s not. I could look like my bad situation but I don’t. You could see the tear stains on my face from crying all night long but you don’t. You could see the scars on my knees from praying all day long but you don’t. You could see the wounds on my back from being stepped on by folk but you don’t. You could see the marks on my body from being dragged through hell and back from folk who say they love me but you don’t. You could see all the burdens on my shoulders but you don’t. You could see the lines on my face from the stress that I face but you don’t. My smile could be gone but it isn’t. My heart could stop loving but it hasn’t. My hands could stop helping but they haven’t. My feet could stop moving but they haven’t. My legs and arms shouldn’t have any more strength but they do. My mind, ears and tongue could stop working but they haven’t. Oh, I’m thankful because my gift could stop working in my favor but it hasn’t. My devotionals don’t have to minister to folk but they do. My book doesn’t have to reach folk but it does. My words don’t have to comfort folk but they do. My prayers don’t have to be answered for you but they are. And just when I think I’ve reached the bottom of my barrel to find all my hope gone, God refills it with more hope than I can ever use. When I think I’ve fallen to the lowest point on the scale for me to even see a way out, God reaches down and pulls me up so that I can see the light He’s left for me. When I think I’ve backed myself up against a wall with no way out or come to a door that won’t open, God opens up a window big enough for me to climb out of. And just when I think I’ve gone the wrong way and I’m lost without directions, God sends me His GPS coordinates that navigates me right back to Him. So you see, I have a reason to be forever thankful!