“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” James 1:17
Are you finding yourself thanking God for the goodness of His gifts or simply for His goodness?
So often in our modern society of iPhones, hoverboards, laptops, and instant gratification, it can seem easier to be thankful for God when He is blessing us. This can turn our love for Him into a love for His things.
The Lord blesses us because He loves us and He gives us immeasurably more than we could ever deserve.
BUT
When we feel gratitude, is it because we are overcome with thankfulness for God, or is it because we are grateful for the things we are lucky enough to have?
We are told that we should be grateful for everything, which is true, but we need to go further than that! We should be overcome with the understanding that true salvation means looking forward to the treasures in Heaven and knowing that we no longer need to suffer in pain and despair because Jesus embodied our sins on the cross and died for us. I think that sometimes we look to God when we are troubled and say, “God why would you do this to me? I thought You loved me! I thought I was saved!” When the reality is, God saves us from Hell and gives us an eternal paradise to look forward to.
True joy in the Lord is the ability to rejoice in Him through all things and praise Him even in the darkest valleys!
Just because we are followers of Christ doesn’t mean we aren’t going to run into any troubles.
“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”” Luke 9:23
Some people understand salvation in Christ to mean that we recite a small prayer, raise our arms enough in worship, go to church on a regular basis, and wear a cross necklace, and magically all of our problems will fade away.
Wrong! Jesus promises to give us a paradise on the other side of this life, but until we go Home to the Lord, we are promised nothing but the Lord. For His grace is SUFFICIENT for us!
When Jesus picked up His cross, He was beaten, made fun of, spat on, ridiculed, abandoned, and killed. But guess what? He did that because He LOVES US. He did that so we no longer have to suffer in sin. We can delight in obedience to His will and commands. We can have peace and joy despite being persecuted for the cause of the Kingdom.
All He asks in return is that we follow Him and recognize that He is our Ultimate Savior.
So ask yourself, are you in love with the Blesser or the blessing?
As you spend time in reflection and meditation with the Lord, start by listing the top ten things you are grateful for today. This will improve your mindset and force you to focus on positive aspects of the day.
Write down the ways that the Holy Spirit is moving in your soul. Share the ways you are struggling and the things that are being revealed to you. This is so helpful to look back on so that we can learn from these things again and we don’t repeat old mistakes.
Pray:
Father, I know that I have sinned. I know that I am not worthy of the blessings I have on this earth, but You are gracious enough to give them to me anyway. You remind me that I am loved and I am chosen by You and that I get to someday sit across the table from YOU. The All-Knowing, Powerful, Majestic Creator of the Universe wants to love me and be loved by me. So today, I come to You on my knees asking for forgiveness and realizing that I need to be thankful for YOU, not just what You give me. Because, Dad, YOU are the ultimate Blessing and I need no other supplication, for You give me all that I need. Strip me of my gluttony and remind me never to take for granted all the things that You so graciously give me every day. I love You and I will praise Your name FOREVER!
Amen.
His Joy Awaits Me 