Gratitude in Every Circumstance
In Jesus, even the storm clouds open into thanksgiving, for His life turns every knot into a fresh beginning.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones reflects on Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:20, where believers are urged to give thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus. Jones reminds us that this is not exaggeration, but reality. The climate of life in Jesus is thanksgiving. Gratitude is not reserved for the pleasant and easy things. In Him, every circumstance can be received with thanksgiving, because nothing is wasted. Interruptions become interpretations, setbacks become opportunities, and even the cross becomes resurrection.
Jones illustrates this with a banyan tree root tied into a knot. Though someone tried to block its growth, the root sent out fresh shoots below the knot. Life made a way. In the same way, life in Jesus produces new growth even out of what seems tangled and blocked. Our circumstances may feel like knots, but His life within us is never defeated. He turns the very knots into places of fresh beginnings.
Jones also recalls the words of Amy Carmichael, who endured years of suffering with the conviction that nothing God allowed could offend her. For her, thanksgiving was not theory, but a lived reality. Jones pushes further, showing that in Jesus we are called not only to endure but to give thanks in all things. Thanksgiving redeems even pain, frustration, and failure, because in His hands they become usable. Everything is brought into the service of God’s purposes.
This message is not meant to minimize suffering, but to lift our eyes to the One who transforms it. In Jesus, life is never simply bearable, but redeemable. Our hearts can overflow with thanksgiving because in every circumstance, He is Lord. Gratitude becomes our climate, and our thanksgiving becomes thanks-living, shaping who we are and how we walk in Him.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, in Jesus you have entered into a life where nothing is wasted. I am able to work all things together for good, and that includes even the painful and perplexing. Do not measure life by its knots, but by My life that flows through them.
Give thanks not only for the blessings that are obvious, but for every circumstance that I am using to conform you to the image of My Son. Thanksgiving is not denial of difficulty. It is confidence in My presence and power within you. I take what the enemy intends for harm and use it for good.
You are joined to the One who turned the cross into victory and death into life. His life in you turns frustration into fruitfulness and sorrow into songs of joy. As you yield with thanksgiving, I fill you with peace that surpasses understanding, and I strengthen you to live in the abundance of His grace.
Scripture References: Ephesians 5:20, Romans 8:28-29, Genesis 50:20, Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Colossians 3:15-17, Psalm 30:11-12, James 1:2-4.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a cook working in a kitchen. A mistake is made, and an ingredient is added at the wrong time or in the wrong proportion. At first, it looks like the whole dish is ruined. But in skilled hands, the cook adjusts, adds, and transforms what seemed like a disaster into a meal that is rich and satisfying. The very mistake is woven into something good.
In the same way, I can look at my day with all its disruptions and disappointments and say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this very moment.” What looks like waste becomes usable in His hands, and thanksgiving rises where frustration once lived.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that in every circumstance I can give thanks, because You are Lord of all. Nothing is wasted in Your hands. You transform knots into fresh growth, setbacks into new beginnings, and sorrow into joy. I rest in Your sufficiency today, grateful that my life in Jesus is never bound to frustration but always filled with thanksgiving.