by Richelle Hecker

Grateful no matter the circumstance.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

^“Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version

This Thanksgiving, I have a great number of things for which I am thankful. This, however, has not always been true. There have been many difficult years, when thanking God for my circumstances was almost more than I could do. Years ago my husband, and father of my four young children, deployed to the war in Iraq on the day after Thanksgiving. Six weeks later we received the knock on our door that told us he could never come home.

Time, and additional trials, have compounded the pain of my loss. Still, God commands us to rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances. I’ve learned, through times of darkness, to praise and thank God for who He is, and for all He accomplished on the cross. Jesus lived, died, and rose again in order to conquer sin, death, and the devil. This is the one thing that matters.

I chose this photo from one of my hikes because the rock formation reminds me of the stone rolled away from the tomb on Easter morning. We see trees, and other foliage, living and growing up among the stones. The stones moved into place long ago. Since then, life has come and gone among them. Rain, storms, drought, snow, and a multitude of circumstances have passed by. The stones remain as a continual backdrop for the stories unfolding around them.

I do not know what has touched your life this year or in years past. No doubt, there have been seasons of unsurpassed joy, as well as seasons of incredible pain and sorrow.  No matter what circumstance each day brings, no matter what season you are experiencing, the stone that was rolled away from His tomb is a continual backdrop to your story. Rejoice, and be thankful, this holiday for what He accomplished so long ago. He paid the price for our sins, He removed the sting of death, and He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him.

For this we are forever grateful.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado