I kept seeing the same message. When a message is repeated to me in 4 amazing ways, I must take it seriously.

1. A devotional and illness

The first time I heard the message was in a devotional. A man told about his illnesses and his examinations on a hospital. His reaction to being sick was to be joyful, always praying and always giving thanks. He quoted 1 Thess 5:16-18  “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. While I was reading this, I had a time when I was sad and complaining about my life, and I was not able to pray to God for days. I didn’t think further about this verse.

 

 2. My husband and a broken wheelchair

 A few days later my husband’s wheelchair was broken. Life became more complicated than usual. One night my husband and I went to bed, and he began to talk. It was as if he preached. He talked about all the good things in our life, all the things we should be grateful for.  I listened and said yes. I turned around and closed my eyes while thinking: Yes, but…I’m sad, I’m bored, I wish a lot of things were different, and that the wheelchair was not broken.

3. Friend’s text message

The next day I was about to use the lift to move my husband. When I clicked on the remote control, the lift stopped working. We had to do without the lift, and so we tried, but something went wrong. My husband fell down at the floor. I couldn’t lift him up from the floor. He tried to call someone to help with the lift. They didn’t answer.
In middle of our struggle, I received a text message from a friend.  He sent me those words:

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”

I was astounded. I was thankful and I prayed. I prayed my husband’s wheelchair would soon be fixed.
We heard someone knocking on the front door. It was a man, who came with the wheelchair, which now was fixed. The man helped my husband up from the floor.

 

4. Matt Ham’s challenge and a choice

About a week later I took a 7 days online course with devotionals (RICH life challenge). You can read more about Matt Ham and his Redefine Rich on http://mattham.com/. I took Matt Ham’s online course. Guess which Bible verse Matt Ham quoted in the challenge.
Yes, he quoted 1 Thess 5:16-18, and he taught me that gratitude is a choice.
When a Bible verse is repeated for me many times, I have to pay attention.
God’s will for me (and you) is to choose to be joyful, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.

Today I will begin to show more gratitude. Thank you for reading.

thank you