• He had dementia, so I do know it was time for him to go. I’m glad he’s now free and healthy.
• My son dealt with depression and was an addict, so perhaps this was God’s gift—releasing him from his pain.
• I thank God for the people who surrounded me with love during my darkest hours.
The atmosphere changes dramatically as praise and thanksgiving erupt spontaneously: “I thank God for the colour of the leaves in the parking lot”; “I thank God for this group and the openness to share”; “I thank Barb for offering to bring me a meal”; “I am grateful that I’m able to start cleaning out my husband’s closet.” The laments turn into longing for healing and hope, and energy returns to the room.
When we stop and give thanks for the good things God has done and raise a hallelujah amid our pain or questions, new hope arises, and joy is right on its heels.
4. Pursue physical joy. I love the way God created each of us. Not only does thankfulness give us fresh joy and energy; it also revives us physically. Here’s what Rick Warren says in his book God’s Power to Change Your Life: “Psychologists say that gratitude is the healthiest emotion. Hans Seyle, the father of stress studies, claimed that gratitude produces more emotional energy than any other attitude. Haven’t you found it to be true that the people who are the most grateful are the happiest people you know?”8
There are amazing benefits of thankfulness, and many of them focus on our physical well-being. According to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, researchers found that participants fell asleep faster and stayed asleep longer after spending 15 minutes jotting down what they’re grateful for in a journal before bedtime. It benefits the heart, boosts your immune system, and protects you from negative emotions. Go ahead—Google “benefits of thankfulness,” and your jaw will drop at the significant results.
So, what’s stopping you from being thankful and raising a hallelujah amid your unpredictably wonderful life?
I made a commitment to myself that I will choose to be thankful until I take my last breath. Right now, my goal is to reach ten thousand reasons to praise God in the middle of whatever circumstances come my way. Come along and join me on this journey. Thankfulness is the superpower of fresh joy. A grateful heart is a heart that is content and free, and it primes the brain for healing and miracles.
Stop
and Ask God to Make You Joyful
Ask God, How can I be more thankful?
S—Scripture: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Ps. 126:3).
T—Thanksgiving: Looking back I see how you’ve cared for me even when I didn’t know it. Thank you for the great things you do for me every day in ways I can’t even imagine. Thank you for caring for me so deeply and richly.
O—Observation: I’ve come to see that a huge part of my life is waiting for certain results so I will feel the pleasure of success and happiness. I didn’t know that if I let go of the outcomes I could have contentment and joy in spite of how life turns out. I need to raise a hallelujah in the middle of my disappointments, pain, and struggles so that God can do his work to produce the best results.
P—Prayer: God, I really want to become a thankful person and to find contentment and joy in spite of what life throws at me. I never realized that overabundance devalues all that I have, so I ask you to please help me declutter my life. Help me to be content with what I have and find joy through all the gifts you have already blessed me with. You are such a good, good father—help me to focus on all your goodness. I need to stop believing the lies of the enemy that more is better and will make me happier. Guide me into your truth, and unleash the reservoir of heaven to fill me with your joy, which is sustainable and never ending. Thank you. Amen.
TWO
GOD’S UPPER STORY
A Window into Heaven
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”—Henri J. M. Nouwen (Meditations)
We love stories with a happy ending. How do we find resolution when a love story turns bitterly wrong? Where is our joy when heartfelt prayers for healing come with a resounding “no”? I know we’re in the middle of God’s love story, and he promises to hear all our prayers. But in our darkest hour when we feel that God has turned his face away, we feel abandoned and rejected. After all, the Bible says, “Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:14 NLT).
God answers prayers in mysterious ways. We love miraculous stories of a tumour that vanished, a woman who had struggled with infertility finally giving birth, or breast cancer that didn’t return. These are the tales that become legends. But stories of unanswered prayer—not so much. And yet we need to share the stories of these unanswered prayers so we don’t feel so alone and abandoned by God.
I do love prayer. I have been a prayer advocate and warrior for over 30 years, especially after the death of my first husband, Dick. I fully believe that God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Ps. 68:5), and he does hear our prayers.
During my first widowhood years, God felt very near and was a tangible presence in my daily routine. I prayed for the simplest and hardest decisions: “God, where is the irrigation shut-off?” “God, show me how to prune these bushes.” “God, help me to make decisions about my dad’s medical condition.” “God, when is the right time to sell my house?” At times it felt like God was right beside me, walking me through the haze and darkness of unchartered territory. God was close, intimate, and trustworthy.
But God drove a nail into my heart when he didn’t answer my prayer for my beloved Jack’s healing. Within hours of Jack taking his last breath on the kitchen floor and then the paramedics reviving his heartbeat, news of this tragedy spread like a contagious virus. Across Canada, America, and Europe thousands of people prayed and believed for a complete recovery. Our family and friends believed for nothing less. He died five days later.
More Questions Than Answers
Throughout our marriage, Jack and I witnessed and celebrated many answers to prayers. We believed God for complete healing while going through Jack’s dismal prognosis of gall bladder cancer. I recall holding Jack’s hand while sitting in the surgeon’s office and hearing the surgeon say, “I have to remove Jack’s gall bladder and surrounding areas, including his liver. If Jack survives the surgery, he will have one to five years to live.” We were stunned with the reality of the news, but we pressed into our faith, believing and trusting God for more than five years.
Throughout the days following that depressing conversation with the surgeon, I was thick in the midst of juggling my career as a controller for two automobile dealerships. Plus I was squeezing in endless hours sitting with Jack in hospital and doctors’ waiting rooms. Noticing my distress, my colleagues at the dealership were kind enough to send us an enormous arrangement of potted plants, which included a small palm tree.
Throughout the months and years following Jack’s surgery, Jack and I watched our palm tree grow into a lush tall plant. God answered our prayers for complete healing, and a year later we rejoiced as Jack’s blood tests showed he was cancer free. Today my palm tree still sits in my dining room, and its luscious leaves are a daily reminder of how we rejoiced over answered prayer.
So why would God answer prayers for healing Jack’s cancer and then take him home to heaven through a heart attack? Jack and I were savouring the richest time in our marriage with our children, ministry, and recreation and were honouring God by putting him first in every aspect of our lives. Why would my second husband, as did my first, drop from a heart attack and leave