From Dear Jesus by Sarah Young
Bearing your circumstances bravely—even thanking Me for them—is one of the highest forms of praise. This sacrifice of thanksgiving rings golden-toned bells of Joy throughout heavenly realms. On earth, also, your patient suffering sends out ripples of good tidings in ever-widening circles.
Dear Jesus,
You have been training me in the discipline of thankfulness for a long time. Yet I still find it quite challenging to thank You for suffering—my own or others’. Sometimes, though, I am able to thank You for painful circumstances. This seems unnatural at first, but it is actually quite freeing. When I am able to do this, I find that I relax and feel closer to You. Please help me endure my circumstances bravely—with gratitude.
Beloved,
Thanking Me for adversity requires a deep level of trust: in My goodness, My mercy, My Love. People who are leaning on their own understanding cannot achieve this depth of trust. So, handling difficulties courageously involves relinquishing your demand to understand.
You have experienced personal benefits from thanking Me for hard situations, but there is more—much more! Your grateful acceptance of adversity has major repercussions far beyond yourself: in heaven as well as on earth. Joy-bells resound in heavenly domains when suffering believers trust Me enough to give thanks. Also, your sacrifice of thanksgiving has divine Power to weaken spiritual strongholds of evil. Moreover, your patient endurance of suffering can strengthen and encourage My people on earth. Sacrifice thank offerings to Me. Tell of My works with songs of Joy! (Psalm 107:22)
Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
–Ephesians 5:20
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
–Proverbs 3:5
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
–2 Corinthians 10:3–4
©2007 by Sarah Young
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Written in the same style as Jesus Calling®, Jesus Today™contains all-new devotions for a hope-filled walk with God. Born out of missionary Sarah Young’s own trials, Jesus Today shows that hope shines brightest in adversity. Grow in grace, hear from God, and walk with Jesus Today.