What's helped me is James, the brother of Jesus,

points to this, Paul points to this,

that all of our suffering in the hand of God is productive, without exception.

Whenever they're suffering, it's producing something.

In other words, God is never done when I'm in pain, when I'm suffering,

when I'm experiencing loss, he's

going somewhere.

Welcome to the Crossway podcast, a show where we sit down with authors each week for thoughtful

interviews about the Bible, theology, church history, and the Christian life.

I'm Matt Tully, and today I'm talking with Sam Crabtree.

Sam is a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served for over

20 years.

A former public school teacher, Sam also serves as chairman of the board of Bethlehem College

and Seminary, and is the author of Practicing Thankfulness,

cultivating a grateful heart in all circumstances from Crossway.

Today, Sam and I discuss what the Bible really means when it says to be thankful

always and for everything in passages like Ephesians 520. He explains why the topic of gratitude

is actually more foundational to the Christian life than you probably think.

Offers practical advice for cultivating gratitude in the ups and downs of our everyday lives

and highlights how we believe in God's absolute sovereignty over all things connects to having a thankful heart in all things. Let's get started.

Well, Sam, thank you so much for joining me today on the Crosswave podcast. Well, the gratitude

is from my end, which is probably especially fitting given the topic, but I really am from my

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