I just thanked God for ADHD.  No, I don’t have ADHD, but it lives in my house and it’s exhausting and difficult for all of us.  So why did I thank God for that?!

The answer is God’s kindness. Last week, He reminded me of the power of giving thanks through the biography I am currently reading, A Chance to Die.  This is Elisabeth Elliot’s accurate record of the life of Amy Carmichael, missionary to India.

Amy Carmichael

Amy, born into a wealthy family in Ireland, was raised to the highest standards of personal integrity. Her high standards extended to her faith, leading her to live an uncompromising life. At times, this made her unpopular, even among other missionaries.  She was completely devoted to what she called, the “K.B.,” or King’s Business.  Her view of God was so high that, at times, I felt uncomfortable as I read.  Do I view God like that?  Is His will and His way so supreme in my heart that I would uncompromisingly follow with unwavering obedience? What would that look like in my life?

• Amy never asked for funds to support her mission. She trusted that God knew what they needed and would provide it.

• Amy never brought on a worker unless they were willing to do any task, no matter how menial, in devotion to the Lord.

• Amy never argued with her co-laborers, because love for God would not allow her to feel anything but love for others devoted to His will.

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• Do I trust God to provide for every unexpected medical bill?

• Do I view my work as Distance Learning mom-teacher and sticky-counter-wiper-upper with equal value and reverence as other work done unto the Lord?

• Do I love everyone who loves God? (Um, no. I have so much more to yield to Jesus.)

Cockroaches and Rats

Here’s a story to illustrate Amy’s way of viewing suffering.

Once, while traveling by boat with another single missionary woman, Amy was put into a cabin which she immediately found to be infested with cockroaches and rats.  Rats!  There was no other cabin, no other boat.  This was where God put her so this was where she must stay for the duration of the trip.  What was she to do?  

Amy made a sign.  She wrote the words, “In everything, give thanks,” on the sign then marked each corner with the initials of the hardships she was enduring.  She gilded the edges and hung that sign in her cabin.  Every time she looked upon it, she thanked God for the things represented by those initials, including the rats!

Amy thanked God for cockroaches and rats.

In Everything Give Thanks

Amy’s sign was inspired by the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (KJV)  The ESV states it this way, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  No matter which version you read, you cannot escape the completeness of the words, “Every” and “All.”  There is no way to interpret that verse which allows us to declare a person, crisis, or situation one in which we can NOT thank God. 

Why not?  Why is this verse so complete?  It is because everything comes from God and God is always good.  Therefore, every thing, whether good, bad, trying, or lovely is from a good God so it must be good.

We know that, right?  We know that God is good and wants good for us.  It is no hardship to thank him when hard things turn out to be good for us.  I love the the story Corrie ten Boom tells of the lice in her barracks where she lived with her sister during the Nazi regime.  The lice caused the soldiers to stay away from her barracks for fear of becoming infested themselves. This left Corrie and her sister free to lead Bible studies with the women inside the barracks.  God used the lice for their good.  They figured that out in time and then thanked God for lice. 

But this verse doesn’t give us time to wait to thank Him after things turn out right.  We must thank him before we know they will turn out right.

We do not thank God because we know how He worked it out to be good.

We do not thank God because we know how He will work it out to be good.

We thank God because He is good. 

When something is difficult, like a rat infestation, a chronic disease, a struggling marriage, or ADHD, it is not for us to know how God will work things out to be good.  The answer, the motivation for thanking God for these difficult things is that God is good.

I was so convicted by this truth.  Upon reflection, I realized I have never thanked God for my undiagnosed bleeding disorder.  I have not thanked him for a horrendous experience in the ICU or for the loss of my lung.  I did thank him for teaching me beautiful truths through those experiences but I have never thanked him for the experiences themselves.  

I want to thank God for every thing… the good, the bad and the ugly.  I want to give back every thing He gives me as an offering, fully surrendered and grateful.

So, I made my own sign, “In everything give thanks,” and I jotted down initials of my own personal sufferings in the corners. I placed it on my bedside table where I cannot miss it.  For two weeks, I have intentionally thanked God for each of the sufferings marked on my sign.  He is teaching me to be satisfied with his goodness in the midst of my suffering.

Because I love this lesson so much, I made signs for you too.  You can download a card and write your own initials in the corners.  Just click below.