04/15/2024
What are we grateful for? What things in our lives, both physical and spiritual, are we truly grateful for? These sound like such simple questions but in fact they are not. So many reasons for gratitude slip right past us each day without our slightest sense of their passing, or without our acknowledging from whence they came. Let’s look at a verse from Psalm 126 today. In this psalm the psalmist speaks of gratitude and joy when he says...
“The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”
Psalms 126:3 ESV
In this Psalm the Lord is recognized for the good He has done for Israel; first by other nations, and then by the people of Israel themselves. Has something like this ever happened to you? A good thing occurs in your life and yet you don't consciously recognize it until someone else says "God certainly blessed you by______." Well, you can fill in the blank. Then and only then do you realize what has occurred and that God has been at work in some wonderfully discreet way.
We are often quick to complain when God isn’t dealing with the bad things in our life fast enough for us, and in so doing, we often miss the good outcomes completely. The apostle Paul had a thorn in his body, and we read in 2 Corinthians 12:8 that he prayed three times for that thorn to be removed, but in the next verse we find that he has yielded to it, and come to realize how that thorn is teaching him a wonderful lesson regarding Grace and weakness. Are we missing the good lessons and outcomes in our lives by concentrating on the bad things that happen to us and forgetting the promise of good God has made us? Are we boasting in Christ and being grateful for all things as we should be? Listen to Paul…
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV
One morning, I was preparing to go to work and it seemed that nothing was going right.... I couldn't find my favorite shirt, the cereal box was empty so I had to make toast, my keys weren't where I usually left them. Well needless to say I was running very late when I finally made it to my car. I was not pleased and was voicing my discontent out loud.
In order to make up the time, I was forced to consider an alternate way to work that might (if all the stars aligned) save me some time; but they didn't align, and I was fuming by the time I pulled into the parking company lot. Then, just as I reached to turn the car off, a news broadcast blared from the radio warning of a terrible accident that had occurred on my normal route. My hand dropped as I listened to the account of injuries and a fatality. Had my morning gone as usual, if my favorite shirt would have been in my closet, if I had bought more cereal, if my keys had been on my dresser, I would have been right where the accident occurred. I thanked God right there in the parking lot. If not for the radio broadcast I would have never known that the Lord had His hand on me all morning. I contemplated His blessing and in my gratitude I praised Him.
I dare say that you may have a similar story, and that maybe you are just now realizing God's good and merciful hand in it.
When I read my devotional this morning it was simply titled "Gratitude" and although we can be grateful for things people do for us, the author was referring to a gratitude towards God. I would also like to include a grey area in which people perform acts that demand our gratitude because they do them while obeying the voice of their faith in God. E.M. Bounds started his lesson today by saying "Gratitude arises from a contemplation of the goodness of God." He went on to point out that our gratitude is based on the mercies of God; and that our praise arises from that gratitude.
God is at work in our lives every minute of every day and He deserves our gratitude and thanks. To see Him moving we only need to contemplate His ways and seek Him in even the most trivial of life's occurrences. He is in everything we do and all that surrounds us; working towards good outcomes for us.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 KJV
Today let’s be cognizant of God's provision for us and strive to recognize even his most subtle movements. Then, as we realize the blessings He has bestowed upon us, let's thank and praise Him in prayer without ceasing.
May God make you perfect, may he establish, strengthen, and settle you. May His good works not go unnoticed as He straightens the road before you, and may your gratefulness, thanksgiving, and praise be as a sweet smell of incense to His senses.
Rich Forbes
Prayer:
Father, thank you for everything in our lives, the good and the bad, because you are busy mixing all of these together to produce amazing good things for us. Thank you for the thorns we have in our bodies, and the suffering they bring us, because beyond our pain and suffering you are teaching us incredible truths regarding yourself, Jesus, and our faith. When we see those things that are so obviously good in life, don’t let them be twisted by Satan as he tells us that this is the only manifestation of good, and that the bad things in life can’t possibly be made good by you. Don’t let him twist the truth that you use both the thorns and the soft petals of the rose blossoms together to make such a splendid and beautiful flower. Help us Lord to weather the bad as we look expectantly towards the good, and strengthen our faith in the truth of your promises. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is with us always, whether we are standing in your glory on the mountaintop, or you are walking with us through the valley of the shadow of death. Amazing and true are your promises, and we pray that you show us yourself in them so that we can praise you, thank you, and give you the everlasting glory for them all. From the darkness that fell over Calvary to the empty tomb, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ, we are grateful for who you are, and thankful for all you do for us. Hear our prayers Father as we ask that our thorns be removed, but let your will be done in them, and don’t destroy the rose to satisfy our weakness and earthly desire regarding the discomfort of those thorns. We long for a smooth and straight stem for our lives, but we will yield to the thorny bark if it be your will. We thank you for the good and bad alike, and trust in your Word that tells us that they both work together for good to those you call… call us today Abba, and never loosen your eternal grip on our hand.
Amen!
Rich Forbes