When Peter spoke to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, they were amazed to hear him in their own language. They listened, and their lives were never the same. What if, as soon as they heard him talking about the death and resurrection of Jesus, they had stomped off, unwilling to listen to his foolishness? What if they closed their minds, certain they already knew the way to go? The way to life? Would they be like Lot’s wife, who, instead of following God’s lead looked back, longing for Sodom, and turned into a hard, lifeless pillar?

How many times has God spoken to us and instead of receiving words of life we chose what we have determined is the way our life, or the life of one we care about, should go?

Can we continue to live with such hardness?

I think much of the benefit of giving thanks is in the softening effect it has on our psyche. We can’t raise a hand in thanksgiving and a fist in anger at the same time.

Even when circumstances are hard, when we look for God’s hand at work, or listen to his words, spoken in our own language, we hear the whisper in the silence that guides us forward.

We find the light in the darkness, and that tiny flame begins the softening in our souls.

How long can we go on, ignoring the word of life, growing ever harder?

Until our shell is so thick that we cannot move, cannot turn, cannot hear?

God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. Ephesians 5:18 MSG