Hello and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren.

You know, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we're pausing our current series to bring you a special message from Pastor Rick,

one that will help you reflect on God's goodness and grow a heart of gratitude.

Okay, and now here's part two of a moving message called Being Thankful, Even in Bad Times.

When tragedy strikes, when you hit the skids, when your life falls apart, when everything goes wrong,

the typical thing we want to do is look for an explanation.

That's dumb.

Because explanations never, ever comfort.

They don't really help you at all.

I've told you many times that if my wife Kay were to drop dead tomorrow and I were to know

the reason, it wouldn't make me any less sorrowful,

any less in pain.

And so don't waste time always trying to find out the why, why, why, why?

Because first, my brain isn't big enough to understand all that happens in the world, and neither is yours.

It's like an aunt trying to understand the Internet.

And there are a lot of things in your life.

You're just not going to know why they happen

until you get to heaven, then it's all going to make sense.

And you'll see it.

What you need when you're going through a tough time

is not an explanation.

What you need is the presence of God.

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