Thanking God for challenges

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you" Colossians 1:3

When you pray, are you thanking God for the blessings in your life? It is easy to thank him for getting a job promotion, a loved one's recovery from sickness and other tangible items. But do you remember to thank God for the people He has placed in your life?

In my electronic prayer journal, PrayerSteward, I have a prayer category set up for prayers of thankfulness, and in that category I have placed a few ongoing prayer commitments. They are my wife and my kids, my siblings, and then a general prayer commitment for all the other people God has placed in my life. I am not just speaking of those that can benefit me. No, I am also talking about thanking God for placing people in my life that challenge my faith. Those that help to strengthen my beliefs.

I have always, and will continue to be, someone that shows my faith by my actions. I believe actions speak much louder than words, and if God wanted me to preach to people He would have guided me to become a priest or pastor. No, instead God strategically places me places where my faith can touch others, sometimes without them even knowing. Those that have worked for me in the past say flattering things about me in regard to being a good manager. Is this because I know every human resource rule, the answer to every business question, or that I am so much more intelligent than those I manage? Absolutely not. While I do take pride in continuing to gain knowledge, making sure I understand all of the HR policies, I also know how to deal with people. But it is not from anything that I have learned over the last 25+ years in the workforce, or anything that I learned when earning my college degree. Those experiences taught me a tremendous amount about business, but they also reinforced what I learned from the Bible from a young age.

In every situation you must have empathy for the other person and their individual situation. Put yourself in their shoes and tell yourself how you would want to be treated. Then act based on that knowledge as well as the facts. Do not confuse this with not allowing for consequences to occur because there are consequences to our actions and we must all be responsible and accept these consequences. But we can assure that what we do is in love, not anger or hatred.

May your Thursday be blessed with wonderful gifts from God. Thank God for all those that may touch your life today.