Attitude of Gratitude

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation. (Jeremiah 10:23–25)

It takes time and many experiences to realize that I cannot direct my steps. It takes faith to realize that God corrects a sinful heart by grace and justice — grace to me and Jesus to bear my punishment. As I plow through Jeremiah, the seriousness of sin in the human heart is overwhelming — unless my focus goes to Jesus Christ and that He bore my guilt.

Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you. Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be. Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them. Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jeremiah 30:15–22)

Because the prophet keeps doing as God desires and keeps warning His people, I can lose my focus — except for passages like this one. I am beginning to skip some of the “therefore” warnings and looking for the promises rather than studying the threats and letting them depress me. Jeremiah is part of the history of redemption, yet the disobedience of God's people is not the end of the story.

Lord, I am thankful to be born this side of the cross. Even though knowing the faith needed to believe You will do what You say is a challenge now, I can imagine how it was a difficulty back then — before You came and lived here, died here, and rose from the dead. I am grateful for my place on Your timeline, and even more so that You kept Your promises to Israel and sent a Savior for not only them, but for me and for all humanity.

 

Thankful for ALL things?

Yesterday’s thoughts are still with me this morning. God tells me to follow Him like one of His children should, then gives a list of what this means in ordinary life…

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:1–21)

This passage starts with therefore because the previous passage is about what God has done for me, including forgiveness of my sin. He has given me the ability to turn from sinful things and names many of them, then tells me to be filled with His Spirit which often includes a song in my heart and that I will be thankful for everything.

Reading that again makes me realize that if I am not thankful then I am not filled with Him but full of my sinful self, that old nature that wants what I want and quickly forgets that only God knows what I really need. And like bad news from my doctor and the resulting painful cure, I need to be thankful for whatever He uses to fix my broken and stubborn attitudes and behaviors.

In changing to more accurate imitation of God, starting small seems the best idea. Instead of griping when I sew a wrong seam, or my computer acts contrary to my wishes, or I burn my toast, I can find reason to be thankful for a good sewing machine and the ability to rip out an errant seam, thankful for a computer that saves me hours of time and give access to many resources, and the fact that there is more bread in the pantry to try again.

PRAY: Jesus, I so easily complain about such little things, yet if I cannot be thankful for the least of them, I will never be able to see Your goodness in the ALL things, including painful experiences and sad events. Fill me with Your Spirit for I need You to be thankful, but also enable me to have an eternal perspective that looks for ways to be like You even while I’m here living in time and in this very messy world. Open my eyes to see You — in everything, no matter what!

Hard to get moving?

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its position and state of motion. This includes changes to the object's speed, direction, or state of rest. Inertia is also defined as the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at a constant velocity. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics that are still used to describe the motion of objects and how they are affected by the applied forces on them. This month, my word is ‘inertia.’

Once I get started on anything, I don’t want to quit, but getting started is a challenge. Prayer falls into this category. For that reason, Tozer’s illustration speaks to my inertia. He tells of an older Christian who was asked, “Which is the more important: reading God’s Word or praying?” To which he replied, “Which is more important to a bird: the right wing or the left?”

Too often I’m flying on one wing. I love reading and studying God’s Word but prayer gives me the same feeling as jumping into a cool pool. Once I get in there, the water is fine, but each day the call to talk to God is often marked by procrastination and a sense of ‘I don’t want to. It is too hard.’

For me, this is a symptom. God has yet to impress upon me some truths about Him and about myself. Some of them are in this section written by King David:

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:5–8)

Rather than dwell on my problems, there are solutions in this passage. I can remember what God has done to help me and let thoughts of His blessings fill my mind when I am in bed. I can praise God joyfully because of all He has done, even sing for joy — but quietly — my singing is not that great. I can also cling to Him emotionally, intellectually and willfully with my soul as I practice the art of praise.

The Holy Spirit reminds me of one reasons I find prayer difficult. Too often I’m praying more requests than giving praise and thanksgiving. I too easily go on a ‘shopping trip’ instead of a happy vacation from the cares of life. I too easily dwell on all the stuff that needs ‘fixing’ instead of being delighted in all that God has already done. Instead of gratitude and contentment, I’m too often wanting more.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You know this is not true all the time. Inertia means that once I start to pray, I don’t want to stop. However, You know my struggles in getting started. Grant me grace to overcome this tendency. I know that our enemy is not happy when Your people pray and will do whatever he can to put an end to it. As Tozer writes today, I want to want You. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory.

Gratitude should be easy

While cleaning a closet yesterday, I found my mother’s diaries and a prayer calendar. It had requests for various countries and people groups with a few lines to write in prayers. In almost all of them, mother began her notes with, “Yes, I pray for these people. . . .” and in almost all, she expressed thanks for something in her life.

I did not inherit that gene.

Being thankful is more than simple good manners. It is understanding that God is the source of all things and because He is wise and good, I should give thanks for all things. For some, this is easy. Like my mother, thankful people seem to be predisposed to gratitude with some sort of built-in thankful mechanism. For me, this is a discipline.

From reading Scripture and personal experience, I’ve noticed that when anyone (myself included) begins to turn from God, the first thing to go is thankfulness. This does not mean that all thankful people are in right relationship with God, nor that those who seldom give thanks are not. Rather, in a general sense, when I have stopped saying thanks, something is wrong in my spiritual life.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:8–9)

I know for fact that if I complained less and praised more, I would be happier and God would be more glorified. Yet in my flesh, that is, in my natural self, I tend to be a complainer. As an idealist, nothing is ever perfect and without the filling of the Holy Spirit, I tend to focus on the imperfections, forgetting that grumbling ruins my testimony of God’s goodness and power.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world . . .  (Philippians 2:14–15)

Grouchy complaining is easy. Anyone can do that. As a child of God, I’m supposed to display the changes He has brought to my life. One of them is a sense of humility, knowing that I have been given a treasure in the Lord Jesus Christ that I do not deserve. Humble people praise God.

Complainers also forget who is in charge. Instead of believing God is in control and is wise in all He does, my griping reflects doubt or dissatisfaction. This goes deeper than not appreciating the stuff of life; it is griping against my sovereign God who provides for me. Really, who do I think I am?

A few years ago I began a “gratitude journal” where each evening I record what I am grateful for. This is a discipline to develop gratitude, yet sometimes my expressions are far too external. I’m certain that God wants me to be thankful from the heart with a genuine sense of gratitude, not just going through the motions.

I can daily praise Him for common mercies, like food, clothing, shelter. I can be grateful for eyes to see, ears to hear, health and strength to do daily tasks, good food, clothing, a nice place to live. I can be grateful for my lot in life and for my family, friends and neighbors. I can also thank Him for liberty, our church, our country and so many gracious and abundant blessings.

For some reason (my pride?) these mercies are more difficult to be satisfied with. The easier praise flows from my heart for God’s redeeming love, for salvation, for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on my behalf. No matter what else happens, I am totally grateful that God pulled me out of darkness and into the light of His kingdom. I am humbled and blessed that I live in an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Actually, this should be the sweetest and the loudest song of praise. Even if my eyes fail, ears cannot hear, body shuts down, food and friends are gone, liberty is taken and our country overrun with enemies, nothing can take away the love of God from me. I know that if all good things drop out of my life, He never will.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31–39)

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Lord, the discipline of praise should not be a discipline but an overflow of Your Spirit in me. Break in me the source and cause of my complaining and release in me the sweet Spirit of praise — so that instead of focusing on what I think is best, my life more easily gives glory to You.