It has been a bit of a struggle the last week or so. My beloved Onyx (cat) has been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and he started showing more signs than just losing weight. He has been a valued companion through the last 14 years, and I am going to miss him when the time comes.
Last week, when he barely ate anything for a couple of days, I found myself praying prayers of gratitude. It isn’t that this is a strange thing for me. My point is that it was inspired. I didn’t think about it. It just happened. As I pondered this, I realized something important. Gratitude is an important tool in spiritual warfare.
The Devil has a tendency to get into our head with his lies. We start wondering why God allows things to happen. We ask God for things, and we sometimes get confused and even angry when we do not receive the desired outcome.
Gratitude is a great way to chase the Devil’s lies out of our heads, and it is a great way to find peace and joy in all things good and bad. This doesn’t mean that we do not grieve or feel the pain or confusion in our circumstances. No. We still feel. The difference is the trust in knowing that all things work to the good for those who believe. Or, as one of my favorite spiritual theologians would say, remembering that God has an art of bringing good out of evil.
God only allows things to happen if they work towards his greater plan. God uses the good, the bad, and the ugly to shape and mold us into Christ. He uses all of these things to conform us to himself so that we may be in loving union with him for all eternity. His ways are beyond us. His ways often make no sense, and when it does make sense, it is often only in hindsight that we can see the beauty of what he has done.
Bad things happen, but if we trust that God will use everything that comes our way for the betterment of creation, then we can suffer through it with joy and peace. If we listen to the lies of the Devil, we will lose that sense of joy and peace, but God can work in us even then. Still, if we know that he will use every situation for our good, then we can be grateful, even for the evil that comes our way.
Spend some time with the Holy Spirit being grateful for life, and all that comes from living. Thank him for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and ask him to show you where he is working to perfect you in the image of Christ. Ask him how the crosses you are carrying can bring about good. Ask him to help you trust that all things work to the good, and to bless you with peace and joy in times of tribulation. Ask him to help you keep your focus on him, and to close your ears to any lies that are disturbing your peace and joy.
In Him,
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