In everything

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication; with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I remember a pastor challenging us with this verse once. He said that we are not only to give thanks for the good things but everything. I think that it's a fact that we pray more during hard times or times of confusion and frustration and we give thanks more in the good and happy times. I didn't do an official survey except with myself but I'm pretty sure you all do this too! But we are supposed to pray about AND give thanks for everything. God has a way of changing our perspective for us when we do.

Here are a few things that I was challenged with as I read this and I'll challenge you with also:
1) Don't be anxious--give whatever you are worried about to God. He already knows everything and He has a plan. (Jeremiah 29:11-13) Usually whatever we are anxious about we can't do anything to fix so we should give it to Him and rest in the fact that He has power to handle anything we give to Him.

2) Even if you aren't fully convinced, say 'thank you'. Maybe you don't know yet why you should be thankful but later you will and it's better to be thankful now and see a reward later than to be frustrated now and regret it later.
In The book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom she talks about when she and her sister Nellie were moved to a concentration camp and there were lice in their straw beds(on top of all the other horrible atrocities present in the camp). Nellie told her to thank God for their new location and even for the lice. She was aghast, 'why ever would someone be thankful for lice?!' She did and not long after that they realized that the guards didn't come into their room because of the lice. This meant that they could hold Bible studies with the other ladies. After that she could more genuinely thank God for the lice.

3) The peace of God surpasses all understanding. In Paul's opinion, it's better to trust Him than to have understanding. Ok so I haven't conquered this yet. It's probably the hardest thing for me to fully accept from God. I want to see what is going on, I like details especially when I am involved. I want to know now that everything turns out beautifully, that my hard days aren't going to keep on happening and that there will be a happy resolution to them.
But why would I trust anyone else?
 Cue the song "Dios Ha Sido Fiel" by Marcos Witt, (really, it just played), it's a beautiful song about how in the midst of great pain and dark nights God has been faithful and He will always be faithful. We can trust our lives to The One who is good.
And I can believe this when I'm feeling super homesick, when I'm feeling totally unqualified for what I've been given, when dealing with loss or on days when I wonder if my ministry will bear fruit. Or really for any difficulty that I face. Because it's not hard to believe or trust when everything goes according to plan. But when it doesn't, I have to remind myself of the great truth that the God of the universe knows me. He knows my needs and He is either working details out or working me out. Or maybe both.