While shopping for a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, a little boy made an interesting observation to his mother.

“Thanksgiving should come after Christmas. Then we would have more reasons to be thankful!”

It’s an interesting thought. After all, Christmas brings presents, celebrations, family gatherings, and plenty of excitement. The little boy was thinking he would have more reasons to be thankful, but we can have gratitude even when life isn’t going well.

In the fast-paced, bad-news culture in which we live, it’s easy to overlook our blessings. We hear about what is going wrong, worry about what might happen next, and sometimes become so focused on our circumstances that we forget the many reasons we have to praise the Lord.

Always Have Gratitude

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to make gratitude a continual part of our lives.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…” (Hebrews 13:15).

Notice the word continually. We aren’t told to offer praise only when life is good, our prayers are answered, or everything goes according to plan. We are encouraged to praise the Lord continually.

That doesn’t mean life is always easy or that we should pretend our struggles don’t exist. Sometimes, praise really is a sacrifice. It takes intentional effort to look beyond our challenges and remember the goodness of God.

Reasons to Be Thankful

We don’t give thanks because it’s been a perfect year or because everything in life is going our way. For many of us, that simply isn’t the case. However, regardless of our circumstances, we still have reasons to offer thanks.

Here are four reminders:

1. The Lord is continually with us. God promises never to leave us or abandon us. We don’t have to face today’s challenges alone. His presence is a constant source of comfort and strength.
2. The Lord never changes. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The world around us changes, our circumstances change, and people sometimes change their minds. But we can count on the unchanging character and promises of Jesus.
3. Our current circumstances are not permanent. Whatever we are facing today, it isn’t the end of our story. We have the promise of Christ’s return and the hope of spending eternity with him. There is something wonderful about knowing our best days are still ahead.
4. The Lord has given us the gift of life. Every new day brings another opportunity to experience his goodness, share his love, encourage someone, and make a difference. Even an ordinary day is a gift worth appreciating.

What’s on Your Thankful List?

What reasons do you have to be thankful today?

Take a moment to make a mental note of your thankful list. Don’t overlook the ordinary blessings. Sometimes, the things we take for granted are the very things we would miss the most.

Maybe life hasn’t gone the way you planned this year. Perhaps you’re facing challenges that make it difficult to see the good around you. Don’t let today’s troubles cause you to overlook yesterday’s blessings or tomorrow’s promises.

Dwell on the goodness of God, count your blessings, and continually offer him a sacrifice of praise.

Thanks for reading.

Do you judge a book by the cover?

Most people do. We’re perusing Amazon. Multiple book covers are in front of us, and we make a snap decision on how to respond to the book based on the cover.

Now, take the judgment question deeper.

Do you judge a person based on appearance?

I know we’d all like to say no, but sometimes, we tend to make quick judgments. We naturally draw assumptions based on appearance. Clothes, body language, and speech leave us with a first impression that can be difficult to move past. Judgment is made before actually getting to know the person.

We are not the only ones who have struggled with this. When Samuel looked at David’s brothers, he assumed one of them would be Israel’s next king, but the Lord had a different idea. As Israel’s next king is being revealed to Samuel, we find a great challenge for us.

“When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:6-7).

Spend a moment dwelling on the Lord’s words: “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

There’s the challenge. Look past the cover…

• Look past appearance.
• Look past limitations.
• Look past disability.
• Look past the first things we notice.

Look past a person’s outward appearance to a person’s heart. As Samuel and Jesse’s family were together, everyone had overlooked David. He was actually the one who stayed home to tend the sheep. People didn’t consider David, but God did.

You see, God specializes in seeing potential where others see obstacles.

What would happen if we looked at people through the Lord’s perspective? What if we focused less on flaws and more on possibilities?

Are you seeking God’s guidance today?

We desire the Lord’s wisdom in our decisions, and we seek his direction in our lives. Many people look for God to show up in dramatic ways, yet he often guides us out of the ordinary.

• A passage of Scripture.
• Wise advice from a friend.
• A conviction placed on our hearts.
• An unexpected opportunity.
• A closed door.

The Lord has guided me in all of these ways. None are dramatic. They wouldn’t make a good scene in a movie, but the Lord has offered much guidance through them. It is out of the ordinary, God often brings much wisdom and guidance.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah experienced this lesson firsthand. After wind, earthquake, and fire came a gentle whisper.

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

God’s voice wasn’t found in the wind, fire, or earthquake. His voice was in the whisper. Guidance wasn’t in the dramatic, but in the ordinary.

Perhaps you are waiting for God to do something dramatic before you take your next step.

Friends, don’t overlook the ordinary ways God works in your life. Slow down, listen, and remain open to his direction. You may not hear a mighty wind or see a fire, but as you seek the Lord, pay attention to the quiet ways he leads.

God doesn’t always speak through the extraordinary. Sometimes, the guidance you need is found out of the ordinary.

Thanks for reading.

He was a man on a mission, and he was confident he was doing the right thing. With paperwork in hand, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem. His goal was to persecute Christians and put an end to the movement spreading around him.

Then everything changed.

A bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him, and he fell to the ground. A voice interrupted his plans and confronted him with a question he never expected to hear. The confident leader was now trembling before the Lord.

Acts 9 tells us that this man, Saul, was blinded by the encounter and had to be led by the hand into Damascus. There, he waited and prayed, unable to see what would happen next.

Meanwhile, God was preparing someone else for an important assignment.

“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered. The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying’” (Acts 9:10–11).

God then explained that Saul had seen a vision of a man named Ananias coming to place his hands on him and restore his sight.

I wonder what went through Ananias’s mind at that moment.

“Wait a minute, Lord. You want me to go to Saul? This is the man who has been persecuting Christians. He has caused so much suffering for people who follow You. And You want me to walk right up to him?”

We can hardly blame Ananias for having those thoughts. Saul had a terrible track record. He had approved of Stephen’s execution, dragged believers from their homes, and sent Christians to prison. Approaching him would have required tremendous faith and courage.

But God had a plan for Saul’s life, and Ananias was about to play an important part in it.

The Lord reassured Ananias:

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel’” (Acts 9:15).

Ananias obeyed. He went to the house, placed his hands on Saul, and spoke to him as a brother in Christ. Saul’s sight was restored, and he was baptized.

This was the beginning of a remarkable transformation. The man who had devoted himself to persecuting Christians became one of the greatest messengers of the gospel. His passion was redirected, and his life was devoted to telling others about Jesus.

Paul would go on to travel, preach, write letters that became part of the New Testament, and influence countless lives for generations to come.

But before Paul could carry the message of Jesus to the world, Ananias had to be willing to take a step of faith.

Paul would touch the world, but first, Ananias had to be willing to reach out and touch Paul.

What would have happened if Ananias had refused to go? God could certainly have accomplished his purposes another way, but Ananias would have missed the opportunity to be part of what God was doing.

You and I may have a “Paul” in our lives today. We may encounter people whose futures we cannot begin to imagine. They may be difficult to approach, rough around the edges, or struggling through circumstances that make us hesitant to get involved.

Yet, God may use a simple act of kindness, an opportunity, or a conversation to help change the direction of someone’s life.

• Befriend the coworker who is a little rough around the edges.
• Make an effort to talk to the neighbor who seems standoffish.
• Give someone an opportunity to prove themselves, even when their circumstances make you hesitant.
• Extend grace to someone who needs a second chance.
• Allow your faith to make a difference in the life of someone who may one day make a difference in the lives of many others.

We don’t always know what God is doing in someone else’s life. We can’t see their potential or know how He might use them in the future. But we can choose to be faithful with the opportunities He places before us today.

The person you encourage today may be the person God uses to encourage thousands tomorrow.

Don’t underestimate the power of a simple act of obedience. You may never know how far its impact will reach.

Thanks for reading.

Have you ever spent time looking for something that was right in front of you?

It is rare that I lose my keys, but it does happen. One morning, I unlocked an office door and left my keys hanging in the lock as I turned to put several items down. I planned to grab my keys next, but then the phone rang. One thing led to another, and my day was underway.

A few hours later, I realized I couldn’t find my keys. After searching for a while, I mentioned to someone that I had lost them.

He replied, “No, you didn’t. They’re hanging in your door.”

Sure enough, there they were, right in plain view. I had been looking for something that was right in front of me.

Sometimes, we can miss what is right in front of us, even when we are looking for it. The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives. We pray for God to answer, but when the answer comes, we are so surprised that we struggle to believe it.

Just ask Rhoda and the believers who were praying for Peter.

They Forgot to Open the Door

Acts 12 tells the story of Peter being imprisoned because of his faith. While he was in prison, many believers gathered at the home of Mary to pray for him. They were asking God to intervene, and God was already at work. An angel appeared, led Peter out of prison, and brought him to freedom.

But when Peter arrived at the house where the believers were praying, no one seemed prepared for what happened next.

Acts 12:13–16 records the scene:

“Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed, she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’

“‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said it must be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”

Luke paints a remarkable scene. A group of believers has gathered to pray for Peter’s safety, yet when Peter shows up at their door, they struggle to believe the news.

Rhoda is so excited that she forgets to open the door. Instead, she runs to tell everyone that Peter is outside. The others don’t believe her. Even as they insist she must be mistaken, Peter continues knocking.

Think about the irony. They are praying for Peter, and God has answered their prayers. Yet when the answer arrives, they cannot believe it.

The very thing they had been asking God to do was standing outside their door.

Eventually, someone opens the door, and there stands Peter. Their astonishment reveals just how unexpected this answer was.

We can smile at the scene, but perhaps there is a lesson here for us, too. Sometimes, we pray with faith that God can answer, yet we are caught off guard when he does. We may become so focused on how we expect him to work that we struggle to recognize his answer when it comes in an unexpected way.

Be Ready to Open the Door

God does not always answer our prayers as quickly as he answered the prayers of those believers. Sometimes, we wait much longer than we would like. Sometimes, his answer looks different from what we expected. And sometimes, we may not understand his work until much later.

But as we pray, we can remain watchful and receptive to the ways God may be working.

Is there an opportunity you have been praying for that you need to be willing to pursue? Is there a step of faith you have been asking God to help you take? Is he opening a door you never expected, but you have been hesitant to walk through?

We should never assume that every opportunity is God’s answer to a prayer. We still need wisdom, discernment, and a willingness to follow his word. We also need to be careful not to dismiss what God may be doing simply because his answer doesn’t look the way we imagined.

The believers in Acts 12 were praying for Peter, but they were astonished when he arrived. May we be people who not only pray expectantly but also remain attentive to how God answers.

You never know when the answer you have been praying for might be knocking at your door.

Thanks for reading.