Are you Partnering with God’s will or your circumstances?

“It’s impossible,” she hissed, eyes bright with anger. “It never changes. I never change. God just likes to give me the middle finger and do whatever He wants. This is hopeless.”

It was hard to have a reply to a statement like that. The finality gave us pause. To be honest, Friend, a reply didn’t come in that moment—how do we respond when brokenness seems to be all we can see and finding the Lord’s hand feels impossible?

Sometimes, the wisest choice we can make is to choose to not continue the conversation and come back to it later.

One of the hardest parts about meeting people we absolutely adore and seeing the beautiful growth the Lord wants to do, is to watch the same person actively choose to live in oppression… or partner with their circumstance.

But still, that exchange left a deep restlessness.

“Why, Lord? Where do we lose sight of You?” The question echoed in our hearts for days on end.

Why were so many people allowing themselves to be victims of their circumstances?

After feeling led to dig into 1 Thessalonians 5, coming across a commonly repeated verse gave us pause.

“In every situation [no matter what the circumstances be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.“

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭AMP‬‬

(Now, Friend, there’s a connection here, just bear with us!)

Here’s the thing, when we choose to partner with anything other than God, and we do not have our eyes fixed on our living, omniscient, all-powerful God, and instead have our eyes fixed only on the “right now,” circumstance, everything changes.

God is ABOVE circumstance—he’s above space and time. The toil and struggle we see here on earth is not something that can stop Him.

When we partner with oppression or the circumstances of our life instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus, all of the toil and struggle easily become the defining factor for what we can or cannot do in life, or even become the foundation of our identity.

This is where we see the fall into a victim mindset.

Often, the “victim mindset,” is paired with avoidance, a lack of empathy for others, a refusal to take responsibility, or choosing to blame others for their circumstances. If we are locked in this mindset, we lose the ability to follow the next verse:

"Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 AMP

The saddest part about choosing to remain a victim is we lose the beauty of growth and change that the Lord actively does through sanctification.

But there is HOPE, because the answer to walk OUT of the victim mindset is in verse 18–to GIVE THANKS. To fix our eyes on Jesus with joy and gratitude in every circumstance. Gratitude changes our heart postures from scarcity and fear to abundance and joy.

Gratitude is the first step in partnering with what God says about us —it’s coming into agreement with His character over the oppression and pushback in daily life.

Our circumstances may not change as we would hope or imagine. We aren’t promised easy as Christians, but we are promised so much more at the feet of Jesus.

What could change for you today, friend?

What would change if you looked out at what the Lord has given you to steward and chose gratitude?

What if you chose to see scars you carry as the evidence of the mighty saving power of God?

What if you were thankful for messy homes and the pitter-patter of little feet making the mess?

What if you gave your gratitude to the Lord for the counseling appointment that is adding a stepping stone toward healing?

What if thankfulness was the first thing in your heart for the slow season of your business as you build and strategize for busier summers?

We want to encourage you to pause today, and dig into your own heart.

Are there areas where you are choosing to partner with your circumstances instead of what the Lord has for you?

What could the Holy Spirit be doing through you if you partner with gratitude?