Got a question for you....would you consider yourself a thankful person? A grateful person? I have generally considered myself as a pretty thankful person until my eyes have been opened I should say lately. And I have found out that I am not near as grateful I should be. I have been trying to read a Psalm about every day and I am currently at Psalm 36. During my reading up to this point I have been noticing a trend with David's writing and that is no matter what the circumstances: good or bad, or what he is dealing with the words "rejoice", "praise", "gladness", and "joy" continue to come up. Even the times when David is lamenting about how rough his current circumstances are, he still praises God and speak of His goodness.
I have been thinking a lot lately about what makes a life "good". Is it how much we have in our bank accounts, how successful we are at our jobs, how much we have as far as possessions, friends, and recognition in our social circles? Now David's life was not so grand all the time. For as many times there was good there was not so good. He may have slayed Goliath, been king and enjoyed all the benefits that being king brought but he also had his fair share of hard times. He was pursued by Saul who wanted to kill him and lived on the run for a time and he also fell into sin during his reign as king for which he later paid the price. But through it all David managed to praise God with heart of recognition for what God had done for him, even if it was punishment or blessings.
Now I have not been pursued by people set out to kill me or have experienced the luxuries or temptations of being a ruler over a nation, but God is showing me that if a man who went through so much can have such a grateful heart to Him then I need to do some serious thinking about my own heart. Do I really express gratefulness on a daily basis or do I just get caught up in the every day grind of life? When I stop, quiet my mind, and look around, I begin to realize things that I have taken for granted. I have some how allowed myself to think I have deserved them because I have worked hard, lived a "decent" life so far and never got into deep trouble. The actual answer is no. Everything I have been given in this life is due to God. Yes, I have worked and saved up for things and accomplished things in my life, but God is the one who has truly guided it all and allowed it to come to pass. Giving me the wonderful godly parents that raised me with morals, truth, and love even when it was hard. The ability to go to an awesome college and grow in my knowledge of the Bible, ministry and equestrian studies. Dear family and friends that have stood by me and been such an encouragement in my life. An awesome job that I love that has allowed me to have a place of my own with my "fur" babies and so much more. Amazing bosses and coworkers who have become my extended family and put up with me. ;) A church family that builds me up. The opportunity to become a small business owner at 24. As I look back everything was guided by God. The pattern of all that has fallen into place can not be by "chance" or "fate" but by His hand.
Now have I always acknowledged this as I should?... no I have not. I have grown complacent, desired the next thing, and taken all that I have for granted. That is somehow a given. And reading Psalms has reminded me that it is not all just a given. As quickly as we can have all these things, they can be taken away in a split second. What we thing we have or what we are going to have, can be changed in an instant. Also if we can't be truly grateful for what we have now, how do we think that something else is going to make us feel that way? We need to open our eyes to blessings all around us. We need to look at our lives with fresh eyes. We need to shut off the world's megaphone blasting of all things we still "need" to possess and look around and see what we already do. The love of our families, spouses, children, the roof over our heads, the ability to pay our bills, food on the table every day, a car to drive, a job to go to, hobbies that we enjoy, pets that bring us happiness, bodies that allow us to get up every morning. Because so many people out there have so much less. So many people out there don't have the abilities we have or the freedoms we have. To sit back at the end of every day and instead of seeing what have and being grateful for it, wishing for and pouting over what we don't is and I am going to be completely honest: downright selfish. And I am going to be the first to admit I have been selfish. I have been blinded to the beauty of the life I have been given and I have not been grateful every day. I have not praised God for is goodness every day because I have chosen to see the darkness instead of the light. I have chosen to believe the devil's lie that I "deserve" more when I don't even deserve God's grace. But if there is something to be grateful for it is this: "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 (HCSB)
God chose us even when He saw the underserving ungrateful sinners we were. He came to give us an abundant life. "A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance." John 10:10 This does not mean that everything will be a gravy train and that hard times won't come, but God wants us to realize all that we have, even through rough times. With Him we are the most blessed people on the face of the earth because we have hope beyond anything we can possess in this world. We have His love and eternal life if we simple choose to accept it and live for it!
Please know that every time we step out your front door it is a blessing, every time we look into a loved one's eyes it is a blessing, every time we receive a paycheck it is a blessing(no matter how many taxes are being taken out ;), whenever we sit down with a full stomach it is a blessing, whenever we receive a text or letter from a friend it is a blessing, when we lay our heads down on our pillows at night in warmth and safety it is a blessing!!
I am asking God to create a heart of true gratefulness in me. I want to take advantage of and enjoy the simplest joys of life. I want to show true appreciation for those around me and in my life. Don't just assume that the people in your life already know it. I am guilty of this because often I am afraid expressing my feelings, that people won't understand. But if this is you, don't be afraid, most people want real not perfect. And if you think that expressing appreciation shows emotional weakness, let me tell you that couldn't be farther from the truth. Take the time to show it, speak it, and live it. Psalm 34:1 says: "I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips." We are to continually and vocally praise our God for all that He is done and will continue to do. "...For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart." Matthew 12:34 This verse is a good gauge for our level of thankfulness. Do we speak with gratefulness or does bitterness come out? What is coming out of our mouths every day to God and to others? Are we truly praising God for what He has done or complaining about what we don't have. Now understand that it is not wrong to desire to better your life and to wish for certain things, but understand there is a fine line between desiring what is truly beneficial or what is actually an idol in our lives. Test it against Scripture. Look at what you already have ask yourself, if I cannot be grateful for what I have now, how can I be entrusted with more?
So just as we are to be continually praising God and being thankful for His blessings in our lives take that as a reminder to be outwardly thankful to the other people in our lives. Don't take them for granted. Tell them how grateful you are for them, spend time with them, send them a text or a letter, do little things for them to make their lives easier, be there for them. Cherish and take care of the possessions you do have, be good stewards of what you have been given or what you are in charge of. Gratefulness is not just lip service, remember it overflows from the heart...it is an action as well. David "danced before the Lord", he played music, he sang. Also it is a great testament to others. So many out there are searching for joy. So many are going through dark times. If they can see joy in our hearts that isn't based solely off of our possessions and status in the world, but off of something greater, that is going to raise questions. A thankful heart no matter what is going on in our lives is going to be eye catching to people. For those of us who have been blessed with a relatively "easy" life up this point we'd better be humbled and use our thankfulness not as a flag to be waved in front of those who are struggling, but as a call to share our good fortune with others. We have a job to do and I pray to God we don't waste what He has given us. Those who are currently struggling very real, very ugly, battles right now: God loves you beyond what anyone could do for or say to you in your current situation and He can create joy out of nothing if you seek Him. Don't take my word for it, take His.
So we all have a choice. To be grateful every day of our lives and express this gratefulness or to let the day to day routine numb us to the blessing that life is. The devil seeks to blind us from the beauty, the hope of this life; may we not let him win. Join me by getting into the Word, studying what it means to have a truly thankful heart and what that life looks like to the world. It will take time and yes even a certain amount of discipline. In a way it is a habit that must be created if it not something we do already on a daily basis. Make the time to spend even if it is just one minute a day, to reflect and thank God for what He has given you or done for you. I think you will realize quickly that a minute doesn't become long enough and my hope is that we will grow into continually praising Him for is goodness, mercy, and grace in our lives all the day long. In the words of one of my favorite hymns from Frances J. Crosby, who I may add became blind shortly after birth: " Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blest. Watching and waiting, looking above. Filled in His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long." It honestly brings me to tears, imagining a woman who went her whole life without seeing the things that we enjoy in this beautiful world, praising God completely when she could have very easily chosen to be bitter. Now that is a heart of true and pure gratefulness. That is a heart I want, how about you?
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