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DEVOTIONAL ARCHIVE
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. --Psalm 107:21
While he was visiting his wife at a residence for Alzheimer's patients, retired pastor Browning Ware described what happened as he and close friends of theirs prepared to leave. He said: "We shared hugs all around and held hands in prayer. So much to be grateful for! I thanked God for family, for friends, and for His radical love that liberates us even when caught within life's clawing circumstances."
This season, as we pause to thank God for all the ways He has blessed us, it's also good to remember that our greatest gift is His unfailing love for us. So many times our thankfulness is associated with our health and financial security. We parallel God's blessings with freedom from pain, sorrow, and disappointment. But through faith, we learn that God's love for us expressed in Jesus can calm our hearts and minds even in the most trying situations.
During the reign of Darius in the Old Testament, a decree went out that anyone who prayed to any god or man during a period of 30 days, except to the king, would be thrown in the lions' den. Immediately, when the prophet Daniel heard of the decree, he "went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God…" (Daniel 6:10).
When life seems overwhelming and troubles come your way, you can cry out to the Lord. Psalm 118:28 says, "You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you." Give thanks to Him in every situation and you will find deliverance from distress. It is God's unconditional love that sets you free from life's circumstances.
PRAYER CHALLENGE: Thank God for His unfailing love and mercy upon you as a believer.
