Thank God
On the same day that an employee received his salary, a thief took advantage of the crowded situation on his bus ride home and stole it all from his pocket. When the poor employee arrived home, he searched through his pockets for the money to give his family to take care of their monthly expenses and then realized that he had been robbed.
In the midst of the grief that came over the poor family, the man was thinking deeply, “How am I going to provide for my family this month? And what about our debt from last month??” The whole family, which has nothing to live on except the father’s salary, was crushed by this incident.
In the middle of all this thinking, the man shouted loudly, “Thanks God!” His wife thought he must have found a solution for their dilemma. But then he picked a paper and a pencil and wrote down his thoughts: “Thanks God. Thanks God that I was the one who was robbed and that I was not the thief. Thanks because what was stolen is only some of what I have but not all that I have. He stole my salary, but not my job. He stole some of my money, but not all my money. He stole the food of the month, but not the furniture of my house. He stole the money from my clothes, but not my clothes. Thanks God because I can compensate for what I lost. Because if he stole my son, how would I compensate for him?? And if he steals my soul, what am I going to benefit if I gain the whole world instead??”
This father found something to thank God for in the middle of this tough test.
Do you ever thank God that you’re the victim and not the oppressor? And the one who was knocked down, not the one who knocks others down? You might thank Him for a gift or a raise in your salary, but will you thank Him when He allows you to be robbed or deceived? Will you thank Him for sickness as you would thank Him for your health? For death as for life? Will you thank Him when He takes as you thank Him when He gives? So thank God. Would you believe that a thief thanks God because He covered up His crime and did not dishonor him before his victim?
Is it possible for us to have this kind of relationship with God? That we thank God that He didn’t let us become burglars, thieves, and killers? God, who allows the hands of such people to reach us, is certainly able to compensate us for the evil inflicted by man with a great godly compensation. So let’s thank God for everything.
