I was struck today with how easy it is to be ungrateful. While returning from the grocery store with a trunk full of food for Thanksgiving dinner I caught myself deep in the throes of a royal pity party. Trust me, I caught the irony! Just wait for it.
Thoughts of loneliness, inadequacy, discontentment were all clamouring to be petted and coddled in my mind. We all go through these times, right? Maybe I'm the only ingrate that could be drowning in self pity two days before the one day a year officially dedicated to gratitude! As I mentally cataloged all the things I thought I was missing in my life that Still Small Voice cleared His throat and I remembered some very important things. Some things for which no matter what is going on, or not going on in my life, I have to be very grateful for.
Let me address the charges I laid against my life as I saw it on while turning out of Orange Plaza this afternoon.
1. Loneliness.
"I will never leave you or forsake you" Hebrews 13:5; "And lo, I am with you alway" Matthew 28:20
This was such a rebuke to my heart. The Creator of the Universe has promised us He'll always be with us. If we are in Christ we are never alone. If you are not in Christ I'll get to that in a bit too. You're certainly not left out!
2. Inadequacy
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Ouch, I am inadequate. It is through Christ alone I can find strength.
"Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Here's another wonderful promise, we are inadequate, but the same God who has promised to always be with us, and never forsake us will accomplish what He has called us to do.
3. Discontentment
"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
God doesn't give us much of a choice with regards to contentment. We are commanded to be content! And since we know from 1 Thessalonians 5:24 and Philippians 4:13 that God will give us strength to do the things we are called to do, we don't have any recourse, we've got to be content! Plus, He promises that contentment is something special, it's great gain.
After going through these verses and mentally slapping myself in the forehead for my ingratitude I was struck by something even more incredible to be grateful for. My salvation. That same God who is omnipresent and will always be with me; who is powerful enough to accomplish His will in such an imperfect vessel; that God who is Holy enough to command that I be content with what He has given me, has given me love too. Not just any love, but the greatest display of love possible. He laid His life down for me. (John 15:13) The Creator of the Universe became one of His own creations, He subjected Himself to ridicule, torture, humiliation for me! He willingly paid the penalty that I so very obviously deserve. (Romans 6:23) I am thankful that He has saved me from my sin and one day I'll be not only be free from the penalty of sin, but the effects of it too. I'll never be lonely, weak, or unhappy again! (Revelation 21:4) Now, that is something to be thankful for.
And for those of you who are cannot claim these promises because you've never trusted that Jesus Christ is the only way for salvation, you may struggle with all those things and more. Maybe you fear death, have a sense of purposelessness, or maybe you're overwhelmed by anger. God has promises for you to claim too. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says "O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But THANKS be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." If you trust Christ right now you have no need to fear death, you can claim the victory which Jesus alone has won! If you struggle with purposelessness, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" Matthew 22:37. If those verses don't give you purpose and keep you busy I don't know what will! And finally, maybe you're just angry, Christ has an answer for that too. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" Ephesians 4:31. Once we can see how much we've been forgiven it's much easier to forgive others, to let go of all the anger and bitterness that eats us up.
God has made it very clear to me today that He is deserving of my gratitude and I should think of this upcoming holiday as a time to not just be thankful for the things I see here around me, but also for promises of a loving and powerful God.
