"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Jose Luis Sanchez, a longtime Marine, stepped on an IED in 2011 just two weeks before he was supposed to finish his tour in Afghanistan. And although the explosion took his left leg, it didn't take his determination to help others. You see even though he admitted he doesn't like running, he pressed on anyway to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday with a time of 5:46:13. And when asked why, he said because he is thankful that he can, "I do this to inspire people; it’s to inspire people to say yes to something they are afraid of." And you can bet that Luis is not done running marathons yet and carrying the flag that motivated him to start in the first place.
You know Sanchez could just as easily have chosen to dwell on the things that he lost rather than be thankful for the things he didn't. But his choice to be "thankful in all circumstances" is the very thing that now gives him the opportunity to use his pain to help others. You see Paul wasn't telling us to be thankful for everything that happens to us either, but in everything that happens to us. Paul knew that evil doesn't come from God and so we shouldn't thank him for it. But he also knew that when evil strikes (and it will all of us), we can still be grateful that he is with us through it and thank him for the good that will come out of it.
But that 'good' my friend can only come if we choose to let it. Because ultimately the choice is ours. We can choose to be sorrowful over the things we don't have or thankful for the things we do. I urge you to choose wisely.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness to us and your promise to be with us always. While we know life won't spare us pain and suffering, help us to not get overwhelmed and discouraged by it but to instead be thankful in all circumstances that good might always come out of our distress. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
Thank you - 33 Miles
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