Sometimes Medicine is Hard to Swallow

...He knew that which didn't look like anything good might yield good, all in the hand of a good God.

To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice your understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent.

A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise--always.

A sacrifice is by definition not an easy thing.

There is this:

We give thanks to God not because of how we feel--but because of Who He is.

-Ann Voskamp

About three years ago, I prayed a prayer full of hope.

And right now, I can't say that my prayer has been answered.

However, I know one thing:  God works in ways so different from anything the human brain can conjure up...so different from anything we imagine in our wildest, most insane dreams.

So though my specific prayer hasn't been fulfilled, who am I to say that that's a bad thing?  Who am I to judge what is good and what is bad?  I, from my mere, earthly perspective, have no knowledge of what is good or bad in the grand scheme of things.

In times when things don't turn out the way we hoped, our only job is to be thankful--to bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving--not because of our circumstances, but because we have a GOOD God.

Gratitude is a sacrifice at times.  I don't want to be thankful when things don't go my way.  I want to be a brat about it and throw a temper tantrum until I get what I want.

But the funny thing is, in the past, I've always ended up being so incredibly glad that my plans fell through. 

I'm learning (and it's one of the hardest lessons) that God's plan is always better.  

And even when the current situation sucks, all.is.grace.

All is grace.  What a standard to measure life by.

Sometimes the medicine you need the most is the medicine that's hardest to swallow.