Saturday, November 21, 2009

Gratitude In the Midst of Blessings



We often overlook our need for gratitude in the midst of blessings. And that’s the problem.
When life is good we tend to forget where blessings come from. When we are healthy we are less aware that God is our healer. When we are wealthy, however we might measure that, we may not remember that God is our provider. At times we suppose ourselves to be wise, and fail to credit the one who gives wisdom without embarrassing us. At times we imagine we can do anything, but don’t rely on the one who said through him we can. When we are young, we often look to the future. When we are old, we tend to gaze at the past. In both seasons, we easily forget that God is with us today. When our lives are blessed we sometimes forget to thank the one from whom all blessings flow.
An old hymn urges each of us to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” I suppose that such an exercise is intended to cause a shift in our focus.
The Apostle John wrote that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.”[1] The emphasis is not that we should recite all that God has done for us, but that we ought to remember who God is. We should know that his nature and character never shift. Never vary. Never move. Never change. The image invokes a term from astronomy, the parallax. It pertains to the apparent movement of the stars. We know that stars don’t move; we do. In the same way, we need to be mindful that God doesn’t change. That’s why we can depend on him, even in the best of times.
In those times when our lives, our activities, our pursuits are blessed and we receive so many blessings that our cups overflow, we need to understand why. We’re blessed, not because we won a heavenly lottery, but because God is good. He always has our best interest at heart. He’s not capricious. He loves us. Not because of what we’ve done, but because we are his children.
As such, we receive more than his blessings. He gives us his blessing. Something we should treasure. Something we should never trade for anything. Unlike Esau.
You may remember his story in Genesis 25:29–34. Esau returns famished. Jacob knew he would be. Esau asks for food. Jacob demands a price. Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of beans. One moment he’s ungrateful. The next he’s not blessed.
We have an inheritance. God has given us his blessings and his blessing.
If that doesn’t make us holy, I don’t know what does.
And if that doesn’t make us grateful, I don’t know what will.




[1] James 1:17 (ASV)

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