Today, I had the opportunity to remind someone that it is our choice to be grateful. So many times, we allow the sorrows of this world to ruin the beauty of all the blessings God bestows on us. Sometimes, one single event seems to negate thousands upon thousands of blessings. Yes, there will be times of sorrow, but if we choose to praise God through them, we will be blessed. Choosing to be grateful draws us closer to the one who is able to bind up our wounds and comfort us beyond measure.
II Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
We sometimes act like the spoiled 8-year-old on Christmas morning. He runs to mom and dad’s room to get them up for the opening of gifts. He’s so excited because the time has finally come to open all those gifts under the tree. Quickly he begins to tear open each one, paying no attention to the careful detail that Mom had used in wrapping the present. He is not interested in the time or money spent picking out and buying the gift. He opens gifts, stacked on gifts, some with items he needs, such as clothes, and some with items he has asked for in the past year, but never once stopping to say thank you, or takes time to really look at each individual item. He forges through until he is ready for the last gift. When he opens this gift and sees that it is not the toy he wanted most, he begins to sulk. You see, he wanted a cell phone. Something he did not need, something he was not yet old enough to control, and something his parents did not think was best for him. He is not only miserable on Christmas day, he makes everyone else miserable because of his attitude. This child shows openly what an ungrateful heart looks like.
We too act this way when we allow self-pity to overtake us because of situations in our life. While it is right and proper to grieve over a loss in our life, we must always keep in mind that God knows everything about us. He wants to help us through them. He wants us to turn to him for comfort. He wants us to love Him more than anything, or anyone else in the world.
Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
Only a heart that understands true gratitude can do this. This person can push through the hard times because the love of his life is trustworthy. This person knows that this faithful love will always do what is best for him, even when, in the eyes of the world, it looks to be the worst thing for him.
Romans 8:26-32 “And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?”
This passage teaches very clearly that God knows everything about us. When we can’t pray because we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us. With this in mind, we can be sure that every detail in our lives will ultimately work for our good. He is seeking for us to be conformed to the image of his Son, who is perfect in everything. God is for us in every way possible, and when he is for us, none can succeed against us. God did not hesitate to put everything on the line for us. Knowing our condition, he still sent His Son for us, and now, that Son is at his right hand on our behalf.
He wants to bestow good and perfect gifts upon us, but he will do it in his time when he knows we can handle them. He will use us as we allow him, for His glory. We seem to forget all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. We pass up all the gifts God has given so we can ask for more because we didn’t get what we wanted. We, like the little boy, don’t always know what is best for us, but God does.
Be grateful for what God has done. Put your trust in His knowledge, not your own. Faith does not see but believes. Keep your eyes on the ultimate big picture and be grateful. One day, yes, one day we will understand, but until then be grateful!
