Today and yesterday I realized how truly blessed I am. I have so much to thank Him for. I have a job teaching children, which I love. I have a place to live. I have people I love and who love me. God has always taken care of my every need.
I also realized, however, how I wasted much time last year not realizing this. Or if I realized it (understood the blessings), I didn’t really take the time to thank God for them. So many times I was busy thinking about the problem at hand, looking at what I desired but didn’t have, or envying other’s lives. I believe (and this is difficult to say) I may have hindered whatever plans God had for me because of my inability to go through the testing time with joy and not being thankful for what He’s given me. I wasn’t as quick to grasp the lessons God wanted me to learn in order to move on with my life and grow more in Him.
Joshua 3:5 says to “Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” There were things I needed to “sanctify” myself in. I needed more joy in my life, I needed more concern for others, and I needed to learn how to better trust Him.
In order to do so, God had specific tests designed to bring me to a level of consecration in these areas. Yet, during those specific tests I failed to view them as such. To me (at the time) they were more hardships I did not want to bear. They were taking me farther from my dreams and hopes. So, I resisted those tests and the lessons they brought. I cried out to God for deliverance, begged for a breakthrough, and even fasted so as to entreat Him to move. He was moving. I just needed to sanctify myself to be ready for it. I did learn these valuable lessons, but 2007 would’ve been so much better if I’d learned them early on.
Yet in His love, did God stop blessing me in 2007? No, he was faithful even if I wasn’t.
Was I just a horrible, unthankful, faithless person in 2007? No, I did thank God for every time he worked out a situation.
I did seek him and love him in spite of it all. But I think He would’ve gotten more glory and I would feel more victorious if during the testing times I would’ve quickly given the battle to Him and rejoiced in knowing that He was in control. I wish I had realized, as my pastor so often said, that this was the “proving ground” or “boot camp” to get me ready for great things to come.
This year I mean to embrace the Scripture found in Ruth 3:18, “Sit still, my daughter, until thou knowest how the matter will fall.”
Sit still in your actions. Don’t try to run and see if something else will work. Don’t resist the tests.
Sit still in your thoughts. Don’t reason it out, figure it out, or try to plan it out. Just rest in God because He is the master of it all.
Look for joy and cheer each day you wake up. Realize each test and trial is bringing you closer to how He wants you to be and is part of His plan (His beautiful plan) for your life. “Truly, truly God is good to
6 Comments
Last Sunday my pastor preached on giving God praise, and the next day my daily devotion was on praise and thanksgiving. Now when I read your artical I see that God is speaking to me about praising Him always. I wish I could say that I have not been unthankful, but that would not be true. This is an area I really need to work on. Thank you!
Very good thought!
Thank you so much for this post, Lisa – it was a great encouragement to me!
Like you I am surrounded by blessings and truly have much to be thankful for…yet often I do spend time trying to plan and figure out what’s going to happen next. I need to learn to simply embrace today with all the joys it holds, and wait patiently to see what God will bring tomorrow.
Thank you so much! Lately it’s been one test after another. I was doing real good trusting God and rejoicing in His control for the first few, and then more and more came. It gets more difficult to trust and leave it all in his hands as everything falls in. . . but I am so thankful that He is my father and He knows just what is right for me. Thanks for the encouragement and reminder!!!
Wow you’ll never know how much I needed to read that tonight. Although I’ve been going through a battle for much longer than a year, these principles could definately apply to me. Thank you for such a wonderful word tonight.
Thank you, I needed that just now. ~ Lynette