Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20; NLT).
I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things (Isaiah 45:7; NLT).
Lord, I want to thank you for my mind, and for all the experiences which have formed it. Every one of them, both good and bad, has come from you. They include:
- Abuse, unkindness, blame and punishment
- Tragedy, trauma, failure, sin and shame
- Bereavement, panic, anxiety, depression and phobias
- Marriage, motherhood and home-making
- Walking, cycling, music, writing and art-work
- Study, assertiveness and boundaries
- Therapy, change, growth, personal development, work and achievement
- Prayer, insight, joy, bliss and ecstasy
- Faith, longing, searching and finding
- Injury, fatigue, sickness, suffering, disability, pain, loss and isolation
Thank you for all these things, Lord, without exception. For the first time in my life, I feel that even if I could go back and start again, I wouldn’t want to change any of them. This is because these experiences, both good and bad, have formed, and continue to form, my individual mind, in relationship with you. Nothing could be more precious to me.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21; CSB).
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; NIV).
References
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
Whatever happens to you, accept it (Sirach 2:4; NJB).
Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).
Everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory (Romans 11:36; NLT).
The LORD gives both death and life (I Samuel 2:6; NLT).
He wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal (Job: 5:17; NIV).
Those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction (Job 36:15; NIV).
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again (Psalm 71:20; NRSV).
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7; NIV).
Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds (Hosea 6:1; NLT).
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you (Isaiah 30:20; NLT).
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NIV).