For years now I’ve been preaching that we should thank God for flat tires. We all find it easy to thank Him for what we consider blessings, but we should thank Him for ALL things—whether we see and understand them as blessings or not.

As those of you who are Facebook friends with me probably know, I have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. This is not a painful condition. Its primary symptoms are shortness of breath and lack of stamina. Both of these are inconvenient, and the natural human reaction is to curse the bad luck that brings them on.

It may seem strange, but I thank God for my tendency toward atrial fibrillation. I can’t say I enjoy being short of breath or having no stamina, but the fact that I have a history of this condition has caused me to be on a medication called Warfarin for some years now.

This medication regulates the thickness of my blood to prevent the formation of blood clots. It’s entirely possible that without the Warfarin I might have suffered a stroke or a brain aneurism from a blood clot. Either condition could set in with no warning, and both are either debilitating or fatal, but I’m very unlikely to suffer either of these since my blood thickness is kept under control.

For over a decade now, I’ve had almost constant pain in one or both shoulders and arms. I even had to give up playing golf because of it. But I still have the use of both arms and shoulders. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people have returned missing an arm or a leg because of defending me from Islamic terrorists, so why should I complain about pain in mine? I thank God I still have them.

I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever wake up pain-free and feel good all day long. But I had six decades of mostly pain-free feeling good, and I thank God for that. And my aches and pains are trivial compared to what a lot of people go through.

My brother-in-law has had to deal with cancer, and my wife lost her mother to cancer when she was only 30. My mother and my sister have both attended funerals for their own children. I’ve never had cancer. My mother is still here at age 99. And my daughter and all grandkids are alive and well.

I can’t remember the last time I went to sleep at night and slept through until time to get up the next morning. Frequently I only sleep three or four hours—and sometimes much less—before pain in my shoulders or stopped up nasal passages awaken me and leave me unable to get back to sleep. But I don’t have to go punch a time clock somewhere since I’m retired, and I can take a nap or two if necessary.

Although I’ve got nine books on the market—well, five since I combined some of the novellas—I lack the marketing expertise to get them to sell. It would be nice if they did, but I’m not a starving artist. My wife and I live comfortably whether any of the books ever sell or not.

Maybe I’m sharing more of my personal life with you than I should, but I do it to make a point. God provides for me. No matter how bad anything may be, it could be worse. And God is able to use everything in my life for my good. As He promised me in Romans 8:28 and 29, He is taking ALL things in my life and using them for my good to conform me to the image of His Son. That’s why I thank Him in all circumstances. What more could I ask for?

What things have occurred in your life that appeared at the time to be bad luck or horrible experiences but in retrospect you have been able to see as blessings?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.