Here I am, Lord...

When things are going well, enjoy yourself, and when they are going badly, consider this: God has designed the one no less than the other so that we should take nothing for granted. Ecclesiastes 7:14

There are going to be bad times in life. Sometimes the bad seems to outnumber the good. But God has his hand in everything, and that means the bad things too. (Imagine that there was no bad in the world. How could you ever appreciate anything?) God challenges our faith when he puts difficult things in our lives. It is one thing to be right as rain with God when life is nothing but sunshine and rainbows, but another to continue to revel in God's glory when things get ugly and life isn't going how you had hoped.

But not only are we called to push through these rough times, we are called to find joy and thank God for the situations he's given us.

And for all things give thanks; this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

ALL THINGS. This means you can't say, "Oh, thank you Jesus for the A on my exam!!" and then not acknowledge the bad, like, say, that accursed car wreck that totaled your car.

God gives us these situations because he knows we can deal with them, and he knows that we will grow from them. Give thanks to the Lord, for all things.

So thank you, God, for the mold on my ceiling, even though I have no idea yet what good will come of it. Thank you for challenging me by taking away my plans, and for the time alone that allows me to spend more time with you. Thank you for the things that you have set in motion in my life that I am still blind to. Thank you for always providing, even when I am ungrateful, and rage against the plans you have for me.

Here I am, Lord, to do Your will.