Ever wondered what God's will is for your life?

   The following is part of an article I wrote after hearing a sermon on thankfulness. I hope you enjoy it and are challenged by it. It's hard to live up too, so if you ever see me 'grumbling' remind me to be thankful! :) :)

I think most of us have asked this question at some time or another.

       “What is God’s will for my life?”

We all want to know God’s will for our lives, but how can we know? After all, God’s will is different for different people, right? We can’t all be pastors or writers or doctors or any other one thing. God wants us to be different.

So how can we know what God’s will is for our specific lives? Truth be told, that’s between each individual and God.

      However, in the Bible, God does tell us some things that are His will for all of us. They're not all easy,

           “In EVERY THING give thanks: for THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD in Christ Jesus concerning YOU.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18

     For years I read this verse and thought nothing of it. After all, I could quote it when I was two-years-old, it obviously couldn’t be that important, right?

         I was wrong.

When we put this “simple” verse into practice, we not only change our own lives, but the lives of those around us.

Giving Thanks for EVERYTHING, is hard. If you don’t think so, try to be thankful for the mosquito buzzing in your ear. Try to be thankful for your car breaking down. And try to be thankful when your mom ends up in the hospital on life support.

So why would God command us to give thanks in everything when He knew it would be so hard? Well, when we give thanks for everything, we realize how much we really have. How often to we remember to thank God for that last heartbeat He allowed us to have? Or that last breath we just took?

And by giving thanks for the things that we don’t like, it changes irritations into chances to praise God. And when we praise God in EVERYTHING, it not only cheers us up, but those around us see God’s peace in us.

When we as Christians get upset and irritated, the world sees that and thinks we’re no different than them. But why would anyone with a God like ours get irritated? God knows what is best for us, and sometimes, we need the storms of life to water down our deserts of dry mirth.

So why aren’t we thankful to God for sending trials, when it’s those trials that make us more like Jesus?

No one makes you have a bad attitude. That’s a choice that we make. So why do we choose to have a bad attitude when God commands us to give thanks? When we truly give God thanks, He helps us have a better attitude.

So what about you? What situations are there in your life that you’re not thankful for? Maybe you just lost a friend. Maybe you’re persecuted because of your faith. Maybe, you’ve had to live with the most undesirable circumstances imaginable.

              Whatever the case, God still commands us to give thanks.

It’s hard. It’s tough. It’s difficult. But the peace that God gives when we follow His commands, makes doing hard things worth it.

     So roll up your sleeves and get to work. Be thankful for that annoying kid at school. Be thankful for the pain you’ve suffered. Be thankful for EVERYTHING.

After all, that is God’s will for your life.