"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18); "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10b).

What faith it takes to give thanks in ALL circumstances, especially the circumscribed ones! God's will becomes ours when we can accept divine providence as our confidence of His divine love, as well. The seemingly unbearable yoke that presses on our neck becomes lined with down when we can say, "Thank You, Father, for this, too!"

"Then Jesus looked up and said, `Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me. . .'" (John 11:41). What a perfect prayer of faith! We, too, can look up and thank Him and know that our Father hears our prayers. "Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear" (Isaiah 65:24). What comfort to know that we are heard and our anguished prayer answered, even before we present our petitions!

Again Jesus is our example. He said this at the grave of one of His dearest friends, Lazarus. He wept for Lazarus, as we weep for our loved ones when we stand beside the grave. In His intense humanity at His friend's grave, Jesus gave us faith that God understands our brokenness, and hope that our anguish will be turned into joy.

Thanksgiving is a mark of the Christian; an unthankful heart is a mark of the wicked. "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" Romans 1:21. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be. . .ungrateful. . ." (2 Timothy 3:1,2). Gratitude is the umbrella that covers nobility.