Healing | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

I’m thankful anyway . . .

November 27, 2025 4 comments

Well, it’s Thanksgiving Day, and I’m sitting here with four stitches in my mouth after having some unexpected dental surgery. No, the timing isn’t great—I’ll only be eating soft foods today—but I’m thankful anyway.

While Thanksgiving Day has morphed into being much about food, football, and family, and less about THE ONE who provided it, that doesn’t have to be the case. Being thankful is an individual choice. YOU make the decision about whether to express your gratitude for the bountiful blessings you’ve been given, and you can do that no matter what your circumstances are today.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:18

I don’t know what your circumstances are, but here’s a short list of things I have encountered personally or counseled with others who have had to face these circumstances. There are always things to be thankful for . . . anyway.

Chronic pain or illness — even while managing daily discomfort, you can be thankful for skilled doctors, small improvements, or the strength God gives to endure.
Financial strain — when the budget is tight, you can still be grateful for daily provision, a friend’s generosity, or unexpected reminders of God’s care.
Loneliness — in seasons when relationships feel distant, you can be thankful for God’s presence, moments of connection, or the hope of new friendships.
Grief after losing someone — even in sorrow, you can be thankful for the memories, the love shared, and the comfort God provides.
Waiting for answers or direction — in uncertainty, you can thank God for His wisdom, His timing, and the doors He will eventually open or close.
Family conflict — though painful, you can be grateful for opportunities to grow in patience, forgiveness, and grace.
Workplace stress — even when tasks pile up or tensions rise, you can be thankful for meaningful work, supportive coworkers, and God’s sustaining help.
A difficult diagnosis — you can have gratitude for compassionate medical staff, treatment options, or the peace God gives when the future feels overwhelming.
Unexpected disappointments — when plans fall apart, you can still be thankful for God’s protection, His redirection, and the lessons tucked inside the setback.
A strained or uncertain future — even when nothing feels secure, you can be thankful for God’s promises, His faithfulness in the past, and the hope He guarantees for tomorrow.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

Categories: Blessings, Comfort, Devotionals, Faith, Glorifying God, God's Love, God's Presence, God's Word, Happiness, Healing, Personal, Thankfulness

Choose to Chuckle

November 10, 2024 1 comment

During our college days, my husband and I befriended Benjamin, a student from Lagos, Nigeria, who traveled halfway around the world to attend a Baptist college in East Texas after becoming a believer through the witness of some Baptist missionaries.

Benjamin, who was the son of a tribal witch doctor, was at least fifteen years older than we were, and he seemed much wiser. His wisdom came from years of lived experiences, and he wasn’t shy about sharing those stories with us, something we encouraged him to do whenever we invited him to have a meal with us.

Decades later, many of his stories still have an impact on my life, primarily because the culture he grew up in was so different from my own, so consequently, his perspective caused me to look at the world and my faith through a different lens.

One of my favorite stories was the one he told us about the time he and his best friend were on their way to another village and were attempting to cross a flooded river. He described the difficulty he had in making it across, and then he told us how anxious he felt when he saw his friend fighting the current, eventually going under, but then emerging a little later and grabbing a tree branch along the riverbank.

Benjamin began laughing as he got to this part of the story, so we assumed it had a happy ending, but then he said, “But as God would have it, the branch broke off, and my friend drowned.”

When we questioned him about why he laughed even though he must have felt sad at the loss of his friend, he said, “In my culture, when something is so sad that you can’t cry about it, then we choose to laugh. Choosing to laugh will eventually overcome your sadness.”

I’ve often remembered Benjamin’s advice during difficult periods in my life, and each time I’ve followed his advice and chosen laughter to get me through the rough patch, I’ve always found it made the situation better.

I was reminded of this as I was reading some verses from the Bible this week about joy, and I came across some similar advice from the writer of Proverbs.

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Are you going through a hard time?
Choose to chuckle.
I believe you’ll find it’s good medicine.

Categories: Christian Living, Comfort, Devotionals, Faith, Happiness, Healing, Hope, Humor, Personal, Sorrow Tags: Choices, Choosing joy, joy, Laughter, Truth

Don’t Stay Away!

April 2, 2022 Leave a comment

There’s a verse of Scripture in Hebrews that gives me pause whenever I read it. It’s Hebrews 10:22, “Therefore . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

Drawing near to God sounds like a terrific idea. So, why don’t we draw near? What makes us stay away?

Believers don’t stay away from God on purpose. It’s usually the result of not doing something, rather than actually doing something.

Not confessing sin.

After the writer of Hebrews described what Jesus did for sinners by his death on the cross, he writes in verse 27, “If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Unconfessed sin makes us reluctant to be near the One whose responsibility it is to judge sin. We’re afraid, so we stay away.

Not knowing truth.

The writer uses the word,”therefore,” before telling believers to draw near to God. That’s because he’s been explaining great truths having to do with the meaning of the Lamb-like sacrifice and what the shedding of Christ’s blood did for sinners. He says such knowledge gives us confidence to come before God. The reverse is also true. By not knowing what Christ did when He laid down His life for us, we have no confidence and cannot draw near to Him.

Not having faith.

The writer says we are to come before God “with full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,” While our faith in God is a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9), we must be willing to act on that faith or we will never draw near to Him.

What happens when we draw near?

Hebrews 4:16 tells us we receive “mercy and grace to help in time of need,” and Hebrews 7:25 says those who draw near to God will discover, “He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Draw near. Take the pathway into His Presence made just for you.

Don’t stay away!!

Categories: Call To God, Devotionals, Faith, Fear, Forgiveness, God's Presence, Happiness, Healing, Hope Tags: Confess Sin, Draw Near, Faith, Truth, Wrath Judgment Fear God

Should I Listen To This Guy?

September 18, 2015 Leave a comment

Voices! We hear voices each and every day. Some are screaming at us from the TV, telling us to order this, pay attention to that, and don’t forget about something else. Others are posting on our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, our other social media sites, wanting us to sign this, like that, or look at something else.

Who merits our attention? To whom should we be listening? Whose voice is the worthy voice?

A crippled up old man appears in the gospel of John to answer these questions. (John 5:1-17). He doesn’t have a name in the gospel, but everyone at the pool of Bethesda knew him. He’d been lying there for thirty-eight years, unable to take advantage of the pool’s healing properties. Jesus stopped by one day, and, in one instantaneous moment, took care of the crippled man’s lifelong problem.

Following Jesus’ instructions, the Man Made Whole gathered up his bedroll and walked away. Later, when asked by the religious leaders what he thought he was doing carrying around his bed on a Sabbath, he told them he was doing what he’d been instructed to do by the man who’d healed him, by the man who had enough authority to make him whole again.

The Man Made Whole was carrying his bed—in defiance of the religious authorities—because he recognized a man who was able to give life to his withered limbs was someone with authority, someone worthy of his attention.

This same man, Jesus of Nazareth, healed me one day. He healed me of a lifelong sin problem, a sickness so severe I was doomed for eternal destruction. He did so by taking sin’s disease on Himself and paying the price for it Himself. Now, he commands me to take up my life and live it for Him.

His is a voice worth hearing. Listen to His words from the rest of John 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (25-26)