Four Snapshots of Gratitude…Or a Lack Thereof

 

As the United States gets ready for its annual Thanksgiving holiday, it seemed appropriate to share today’s devotional thoughts with everyone. The writer, appearing here for the first time, goes by the online name S. Joiner and their blog is called Basic Bible Thoughts. Clicking the header which follows will allow you to read this direct from the source.

Gratefulness

As I did a quick online Google search for the meaning of thankfulness and gratefulness here is the slight but important difference I found. Thankful is being pleased and relieved, whereas Grateful is showing an appreciate of kindness. Being pleased, is an inner emotion whereas showing appreciate takes some action on our part.

Gratefulness must start at contentment, (a feeling of happiness and satisfaction). Many of us may view contentment as giving up, having no desire or passion, or maybe deciding to settle. Together we will see how contentment is so much more and how gratefulness is to be shown.

Luke 12: 16-21            NIV

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.

His first barn was plenty large enough to care for him and his family (if he had any). Why not share the overflow, give to those in need? Some might say that we should all prepare for a rainy day and for retirement. I would be one of those people, I prepare for just those events in my life. Then how much is enough, where is the line of overflow. The challenge centers more on the statement made by the farmer, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry”. He is missing a very important ingredient, “being rich toward God”. Finding contentment begins with understanding you are no longer yours, but His. You see He has created you with a plan, our role is to find the plan by finding Him. Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be given to you.

Jonah 4: 5-8    NIV

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 

Jonah had just preached to Nineveh, and they were changing their ways. He wanted more, he wanted God to destroy them. Jonah makes himself a shelter, but he doesn’t seem to be very pleased, nor does it completely shelter him. It had created it with his own hands and yet that creation did not bring contentment nor gratitude. God creates a plant that towers over his shelter and provides the needed shade. Jonah did nothing for his current state of happiness, God did. I don’t see where Jonah even offered a thank you for God’s wonderful creation, yet he sat there waiting for God to destroy a city. When the plant, Jonah had not lifted a finger to build, was eaten by worms, he was angry yet again.

Luke 17: 11-17            NIV

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

These ten men, lived outside the cities. They who were diagnosed with leprosy and were sent away with strict rules of conduct. When talking with Jesus they stayed at a distance. Jesus tells them to go visit the priest. As they walked, they felt and saw the healing power of Jesus create them anew. All they did was listen, walk, and obey. The joy and happiness of that healing moment was huge. Nine of them kept walking but one, just one, came back to Jesus. His voice could be heard as he praised God all the way back. Arriving at Jesus there is no distance between them, he throws himself at His feet. He was pleased, happy, and relieved. But don’t you see something more here, he was grateful, unashamedly grateful, change had come, but not through his power but the power of Jesus.

It’s just far to easy to walk though this life seeing only the hurt, the difficulties, maybe the heat of the day, or lack of room for all our overflow of stuff. The burden of life can become overwhelming, and I stop myself and ask, did I build this shelter or this barn, with my own hands? Can I find contentment inside myself, the answer is a resounding NO! Contentment is only found in the arms of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we are blessed, share it. When our life is not the way we planned it out, look toward Jesus because He can grow plants that cover you and offer shade from the heat of this life.

How grateful are you during this season of life? Are you angry, or is your voice wide open in praise? Hopefully this thought comes to mind, “how do we look beyond the challenges of life and develop that spirit of Gratefulness?”

Philippians 4: 4-8 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Paul encourages us to have joy always, become a gentle person. Gentleness is found in contentment, be satisfied with what you have in Christ, stop trying to build your own shelter. He is near and His ears are tuned to our praise of thanksgiving. When we fall at His feet there is peace. I love that Paul let’s us know that even he believes that this peace is beyond our understanding. But he knows that it will guard our heart and mind. Train you mind and your emotions, have them find the good, have them locate Jesus in every situation. All that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – think on those things and be grateful to God that he provides them.

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Second Helping: This month we’ve been featuring links to read a second devotional study by the featured author. We don’t mind “edgy” topics, but even we have our limits! I say that to warn you that the second helping today (which didn’t become the featured article) is about spit. Yes, that kind of spit. (I warned you!) And it figures into scripture several times. Check out the article titled, Redeemed Saliva. (Before you click, can you guess a few of the passages referenced?)

Thankful for Everything

This is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. After 30 minutes looking for an appropriate devotional to share with you, I came across Joy in the Everyday, written by Janet who lives on Canada’s east coast.

Click the header which follows to read this at source, then take a few minutes to check out more of her writing..

give thanks

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 1 Chron. 16:34 NLT

Wishing all of my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m sitting here enjoying the aroma of roasting turkey and anticipating a lovely dinner with family and friends who are family. Pumpkin trifle is awaiting final touches and I am relaxing until last minute work must be addressed. Admittedly, the last couple of years have not been easy ones, but I truly have so much to be thankful for.

I re-shared the give thanks graphic on Facebook this morning and thought of this post from way back when…

Have you ever been challenged by this quote:

“What if you awoke today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?”

I am guilty of taking little things and big things alike for granted.  While I am thankful for my wonderful family, a roof over my head, food on the table and clothes on my back, I do not always remember to show my gratitude to my Heavenly Father.  He is the giver of all good gifts.  And these items would definitely be on my ‘good gifts list.’

What about the little things?  I have never read Anne Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts:  A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, though it’s on my mental list of books I’d like to read … I can imagine from the title and gleaning from the thoughts of others that she challenges us to see beauty in the ugliness, and in the commonplace.

I’ve seen this quote: “Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.”  Am I truly filled with thankfulness in each magnificent sunset?  For a day filled with love and opportunities to fulfill His purposes for me and in me? For that first sip of morning coffee?  For that hug and “I love you”  from my boy?  For my husband who reaches over to hold my hand?  For mounds of laundry…because this means my home is not empty, and we have the necessities of life, and the benefit of brilliant imaginations so that I don’t need to do laundry by hand?  For the opportunity to serve a sick neighbour, to show the love of Jesus? I’m trying to learn this lesson well, as the name of my blog suggests.  I pray that I would not only find joy in the everyday, but I would be thankful in it. A life lived in thankfulness is a life that is content and full of joy.

It’s easy to be thankful for good things.  FaceTime with grandlittles.  Visits with friends and family.  The precious gift of salvation.  What about the hard things?

I Thessalonians 5:18 tells us “in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  We’ve talked (here, here and here) about difficult circumstances being occasions for God to draw us closer and to make us more like His dear Son.  I can certainly be thankful that He hears me when I cry out to Him in those troubling times, He sustains me in my trials and walks beside me as I face those hard things.  I do not face them alone.

God is good. May my heart be filled and overflowing with thankfulness to Him.

One Word that Should Not Be Part of Thanksgiving Celebrations

This was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada so that was a major theme in this week’s devotional from Clarke Dixon, which also continued in Philippians.

by Clarke Dixon

There is one word which should not be part of Thanksgiving celebrations. What is it? Keep reading to find out! But first, let us continue to dig into Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi:

And being found in appearance as a man,
[Jesus] humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:8-11 (NIV emphasis added)

We are so steeped in a love for democracy, and a desire for individualism, that we might read this and think, “Wait, I didn’t vote for Jesus!”, or “One person is in charge? Isn’t this tyranny?” Many people don’t like the idea of Jesus having an exclusive reign and reject the Christian message outright. Meanwhile, we Christians can be demurring in our attitudes, “I guess if Jesus is in charge, I should commit to him. If every knee is going to bow, I should go ahead and bow my knee.”

These are two possible responses to the idea that Jesus is Lord, that God is in charge. Our response may be rebellion, that this does not sound like the kind of God we want to believe in, or our response may be acquiescence, that we should follow whether we want to or not, and, being Thanksgiving, we should give thanks that Jesus is Lord. Thanksgiving is something we should do. Praise is a matter of duty.

There is a third response to the idea that Jesus is Lord, that God is in charge. Let us consider the response of the people to the dedication of the Temple in king Solomon’s day:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
“He is good;
his love endures forever.” . . .

On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

2 Chronicles 7:1-3,10 (NIV)

When the people get a sense of the presence and glory of God, they bow in worship, but not out from a sense that this is something they should do as a matter of duty. Rather, their thanksgiving is genuine, spontaneous, and joyful. Thanksgiving is a joyful and genuine response to God upon the recognition of who God is and what God is like.

When we know God well, we will recognize the news that Jesus is Lord, and therefore God is in charge, is good news! Thanksgiving will be a natural and joyful response as opposed to a duty or obligation.

We often frame the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus, as being that we are saved from sin and so gain eternal life through Jesus. While this is true, and is very good news indeed, the fact that Jesus is Lord is also very good news. The early Christians in New Testament times would have known that.

Those coming to faith in Jesus from a Jewish background would have had a sense of their history, that the succession of kings seemed to go from bad to worse and the current king was no king at all. Over the years the people suffered, especially the vulnerable of society, the very ones a king was supposed to watch out for. The thought, given through prophecy, that God himself was coming some day to take charge, would be met with “thank the Lord for that!” When Jesus says things like “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” those who trusted him would naturally say “thank the Lord, this is good news!”

The news that Jesus is Lord would also resonate as good news among those from a non-Jewish background. In Roman society where the politics around the emperors rivalled what we see on CNN, where the people were left wondering if the next ruler would be better than the last one, the news that there is one true God who has come to take charge would be met, by those who believed, with “Thank God, this is good news indeed.”

We can think of the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who, a song about revolution with a very cynical concluding line: “meet the news boss, just the same as the old boss.” With the news that Jesus is Lord, the new boss is very different from any boss ever known before! The new boss is none other than the creator of the universe who has shown himself to be for us and not against us.

The news that “Jesus is Lord” would have brought the response of joyful and genuine thanksgiving in New Testament times to those who believed. Does it today?

For many people it is not quite as joyful, because they can only think of God in terms of a judge. When we think of God only as judge whose relationship with us is primarily about looking at our deeds with judgement, with the expectation of either a “pass or fail,” praise and thanks may be a thing we do out of mere obedience.

When we think of God also as Redeemer, as Father and Ruler, as Shepherd, as the Good Shepherd Who has given His life for the sheep, praise and thanksgiving become a natural and joyful response to God. Throughout the Bible, God is presented as judge, yes, but also as a good ruler and good father whose heart is inclined to seeing his loved ones fare well.

What is the one word that should not be part of Thanksgiving celebrations? It is the word “should.” It is the idea that we should give thanks to God. When we really grasp just who God is, what God is like, what God’s relationship with us is like through Jesus, then thanksgiving will just happen.

Is thanksgiving to God naturally happening in your life? Is thanksgiving genuine and joyful? If not, I’m not going to say you should thank him. I am going to say we have the amazing opportunity to get to know Him. We will be grateful when we do.

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The full reflection can be seen as part of Clarke’s church’s “online worship expression” from October 4th.

Thanks to God – Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada; our version of Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day all rolled into one. For that reason, I’m posting today’s column earlier than normal at 11:11 EST on 11/11.

Liturgy by Ruth Wilkinson

(based on Psalm 9)

We will thank Yahweh with all our heart;
We’ll be glad, and we’ll sing about and declare Your name, Most High.

Because when You uphold a just cause,
when the wicked retreat, stumbling and falling,
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!

You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
The enemy comes to eternal ruin,
But You, Lord, are enthroned forever.

Only You can judge the world rightly;
Only You can fairly execute judgment on the nations.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

You are a refuge for the oppressed in times of trouble – You remember them.
You don’t forget the cry of the afflicted – You are their hope.
You lift us up from the gates of death.

Those who know Your name trust in You
because You haven’t abandoned the ones who seek You, Yahweh.

Time like an ever-rolling stream
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream
dies at the break of day.

.

Your word commands our flesh from dust,
Returns all sons of men;
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

The nations fall into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in their own hidden trap.
And the Lord has revealed Himself.

So, sing to the Lord who is with us; proclaim His deeds among the nations.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!

Father, we thank you:

• for freedom to read and speak and live Your words.

• for the hands and the hearts, the feet and the minds that have worked and built, fought and healed, and always done their best.

• for all who let fall their own dreams to do what had to be done.

We live in a nation not at war, but there are still battles that you call us to fight.
Battles that require courage, humility, wisdom, gentleness and a kind of love that we’re still learning.

Like the people we remember today, we have an opportunity to take a stand.

To stand with You –
To speak the truth,
To provide for the needing,
To defend the vulnerable,
To love with Christ’s love the ones who live on the fringes of society.
To share what we have and because we know what we know.

Jesus said:

Much will be required of everyone who has been given much.
And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.

Out of around 200 countries in the world, we in Canada live in the 5th most prosperous.
If there were 8,000 people on earth, only 24 would be better off than we are.

We have been given more than almost anybody in the world.
What does He expect of us?

Text adapted from HCSB; link above is NIV

Thankful for Mercy

^{Common English Bible – Phil 4:6} Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks.

A year ago we introduced you to Hajnalka Elleh who works as a translator and writes devotional blog posts in both English and Hungarian. Click the link below to read the article in both languages, and if you know someone who speaks Hungarian, tell them about this blog.

Are You Thankful? – Selected Quotes, part 1

To be always in a thankful state of heart before God is not to be considered a high plane of spirituality, but rather the normal attitude of one who believes that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to His purpose’. – William Law (1686–1761)

The greatest saint in the world is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice. It is he who is most thankful to God. – William Law

Yes, ‘give thanks for all things’ for, as it has been well said, ‘Our disappointments are but His appointments.’ – A.W. Pink (1886–1952)

We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning. ― Albert Barnes (1798–1870)

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Are We Thankful For Mercy? (Thomas Watson)

Our needs may send us to prayer, but it takes a truly honest heart to praise God. The raven cries; the lark sings. In petition we act like men; in thanksgiving we act like angels.

A godly man will express his thankfulness in every duty. He mingles thanksgiving with prayer: “in everything by prayer with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). Thanksgiving is the more divine part of prayer. In our petitions we express our own necessities; in our thanksgivings we declare God’s excellence. Prayer goes up as incense, when it is perfumed with thanksgiving.

A godly man expresses thankfulness …in every condition. He will be thankful in adversity as well as prosperity: “In everything give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:18). A gracious soul is thankful and rejoices that he is drawn nearer to God, though it be by the cords of affliction. When it goes well with him, he praises God’s mercy; when it goes badly with him, he magnifies God’s justice.

When God’s spiritual plants are cut and bleed, they drop thankfulness; the saints’ tears cannot drown their praises.

Where shall we find a grateful Christian? We read of the saints “having harps in their hands” (Rev 5:8)—the emblem of praise. Many have tears in their eyes and complaints in their mouths—but few have harps in their hand and are blessing and praising the name of God.

Let us scrutinize ourselves and examine by this characteristic whether we are godly: Are we thankful for mercy? – Thomas Watson (c. 1620–1686)

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“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”—1 Thessalonians 5:18

Matthew Henry was a biblical scholar who lived in England from 1662 to 1714. He is best known for the Bible commentary that bears his name. After being robbed one day Henry recorded this in his diary: “Let me be thankful. First, because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

Later in life, Henry suffered a stroke. Once his friend Illidge helped the dying man get to a bed. Henry said to him, “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men—this is mine: That a life spent in the service of God and communion with Him is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in the present world.”

If you can give thanks during the difficult times in your life you will tend to be thankful when things are not going well. Gratitude toward Christ and thanksgiving in difficult circumstances indicate Christian maturity. Thanksgiving during tough times brings growth in Christ. Today give thanks to the Lord not because of your circumstances but in spite of them.

Source/Forrás:

http://www.spurgeongems.org/fhg1-15.pdf; http://www.gracegems.org/Watson/godly_mans_picture4.htm; and an excerpt from Peter Kennedy’s “From Generation to Generation”, 1998. Source of illustration: here.  Translated by/Fordította: wordwatcherdawn

Entitlement versus Gratitude

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the theme of entitlement. I despise it when I see it in others, and yet am often guilty of it in other ways. This reading today actually appeared as a pre-Thanksgiving piece (I’ve made a small edit at the bottom to make it more universal) but it’s something we need to think about year-round. The author is Johnathan Dobbs and I encourage you to click through and browse the rest of the blog. Here’s the link to Conflicting Attitudes.

-o-o-o-

Entitled.

That’s the word to describe our current generation. It’s not that they ARE entitled, but that the feel entitled. They “deserve” all the good things, and working hard for those good things is a fleeting, antiquated idea uplifted by former generations who are “out of touch” with today.

Working hard and being grateful are ideas that are becoming extinct.

Yet, that is what Jesus calls us to in his word. He tells us that God is going to bless us, but he expects us to be workers in His kingdom. He doesn’t say spectators, he says workers. The bible talks in several places about the value of working:

“If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

“The worker deserves his wages.” -Jesus in Luke 10:7

These are just a few of the numerous places where working is shown as honorable and laziness is condemned. We are not called to be entitled, rather we are called to have a different perspective entirely.

Grateful.

This is what previous generations were and are. A person is grateful who has worked hard and sacrificed much to reach a goal. A person is grateful who understands the value of things he or she has been afforded.

We are grateful for our men and women who serve in the military because we like being free and understand their role in our freedom. We are grateful for those we love in our life as we understand that their time with us is fleeting, and life would be different without them. In times of cold and heat we are grateful for the houses we live in.

If the entitled generation is grateful they don’t show it. Theirs is a constant quest for more and better. They don’t understand the value of contentment.

So, which are you? Are you grateful or do you feel entitled? It is an entitled generation that can’t complete thanksgiving day without sacrificing it for time spent on the early deals at the store. It is an entitled generation that is constantly in debt. But it a grateful generation that makes it a habit of being thankful for what they’ve been given and giving thanks to those who deserve it.

We all may have a little bit of each attitude inside, but we are called to be grateful – to give thanks – and to work for what we get.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:10-12

You have much to be thankful for. May this be the beginning of a new daily attitude of gratitude in your life such that others can see God’s working in you. May you bear fruit by your hard work in all things, and may you give honor where it’s due – especially to God.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

Today’s piece is from Arkansas pastor Rusty Blann’s blog,  S.O.A.P. For Today — it makes more sense when you note the outline below — where it appeared under the title…

“Manna, Manna, Manna or Holy, Holy, Holy?”

Scripture:

Numbers 11:1-6 The people fell to grumbling over their hard life. GOD heard. When he heard his anger flared; then fire blazed up and burned the outer boundaries of the camp. (2) The people cried out for help to Moses; Moses prayed to GOD and the fire died down. (3) They named the place Taberah (Blaze) because fire from GOD had blazed up against them. (4) The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? (5) We ate fish in Egypt–and got it free!–to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. (6) But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.”

Observation:

The Israelites complained, and then Moses complained. But God responded positively to Moses and negatively to the rest of the people. Why? The people complained to one another, and nothing was accomplished. Moses took his complaint to God, who could solve any problem. Many of us are good at complaining to each other. We need to learn to take our problems to the One who can do something about them.

Every morning the Israelites drew back their tent doors and witnessed a miracle. Covering the ground was pale yellow, fluffy manna-food from heaven. But soon that wasn’t enough. Feeling it was their right to have more, they forgot what they already had. They didn’t ask God to fill their need; instead, they demanded meat, and they stopped trusting God to care for them. “Give us meat to eat!” (Numbers 11:13) they complained to Moses as they reminisced about the good food they had in Egypt. God gave them what they asked for, but they paid dearly for it when a plague struck the camp (Numbers 11:18-20; Numbers 11:31-34).

When you ask God for something, he may grant your request. But if you approach him with a sinful attitude, getting what you want may prove costly.

Application:

How does this apply to me?

Dissatisfaction comes when our attention shifts from what we have to what we don’t have. The people of Israel didn’t seem to notice what God was doing for them: setting them free, making them a nation, giving them a new land. They were so wrapped up in what God wasn’t doing for them. They could think of nothing but the delicious Egyptian food they had left behind. Somehow they forgot that the brutal whip of Egyptian slavery was the cost of eating that food.

Before we judge the Israelites too harshly, it’s helpful to think about what occupies our attention most of the time. Are we grateful for what God has given us, or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God’s gifts of life, food, health, work, and friends.

The Children of Israel did just that however. They found themselves complaining about the “blessings of God.” Every morning God would literally pour out blessings from heaven. They would look around and Manna from heaven was all around them. They became so accustomed to God caring for their needs, that their daily thanksgiving and praise slowly, and subtly turned to complaining. Then the words from their mouth and the meditation from their hearts were…”Manna, Manna, Manna.”

How often does my attitude reflect the same disregard for the loving care of provision of God? “Manna, Manna, Manna” I may say in disgust, instead of what should flow from my mouth when I think of my awesome God… “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Prayer:

“Lord, I am so guilty of waking up in the morning and focusing immediately on the problems of the day instead of the potential. Focusing on the storm of the day instead of the peace. Focusing on the sickness of the day instead of the Healer. Focusing on the need of the day instead of the provider. Focusing on the battle for the day instead of the King of Kings. Focusing on the lack of today instead of the Lord for this day. I ask you to forgive me, for I truly repent of that kind of attitude. Every single day you bless me in ways that I often overlook. I find my attitude the same as the Children of Israel, and even though my words may not, my actions declare, “Manna, manna, manna.” I choose today to be thankful. For I am a blessed man, who serves an awesome, loving, providing God. You are creative in the ways that you bless me and my family. I love you Lord, and thank you for this day. I will rejoice and be glad in it…and thankful! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

~Rusty L. Blann

A Sure Cure for Complaining

From Our Journey devotional

This reading by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

True story:  A church group from New Bern, North Carolina, had traveled to the Caribbean on a mission trip.   During this particular trip, their host took them to visit a leper colony on the island of Tobago.   While there, they held a worship service in the campus chapel.   As you can imagine, the sight of emaciated lepers filing into their seats on the bare pews bore deeply into the minds and memories of each visitor to this unaccustomed scene.

But no memory left its mark like this one:

When the pastor announced, “We have time for one more hymn.  Does anyone have a favorite?” he noticed a lone patient seated awkwardly on the back row, facing away from the front.   At this final call for hymn requests, with great effort, the woman slowly turned her body in the pastor’s direction.

“Body” would perhaps be a generous description of what remained of hers.  No nose.  No lips.  Just bare teeth, askew within a chalky skull.  She raised her bony nub of an arm (no hand) to see if she might be called on to appeal for her favorite song to be sung.   Her teeth moved to the croaky rhythm of her voice as she said, “Could we sing, ‘Count Your Many Blessings‘?”

The pastor stumbled out of the pulpit, out the door, and into the adjoining yard, tears of holy conviction raining down on his face.   One of the traveling party rushed to fill his place, arguably the most “unblessed” of any spot in the universe.

A friend hustled outside, put his arm around the sobbing pastor, and consolingly said, “I’ll bet you’ll never be able to sing that song again, will you?”

“Yeah, I’ll sing it,” the pastor answered, “but never the same way, ever again.”

Leave it to a grotesquely deformed leper to remind us that grateful people are characterized by grateful words, while ungrateful people are giving to griping, complaining, murmuring, whining.

Some grumble at why God put thorns on roses, while others wisely notice — with awe and gratitude — that God has put roses among thorns.   Hear what people are saying when they talk about the everyday events of their lives, and you’ll see in an instant the difference between gratitude and ingratitude.

“You are my God and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.  Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Ps. 118: 28-29 ESV