Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Maybe its only me, but have you ever found yourself just so ungrateful that no matter what God has done for you, some negative speck seems to cloud the entire horizon? It is one of the ongoing effects of sin on the human psyche – still evident even in the Redeemed.
Maybe the following will help put a few small things back into perspective.
Maybe, as we contemplate Thanksgiving Day here in the US, for 2011, we can step back and drink in the goodness of God, unsoiled for just a minute. I need to do this more.
Heavenly Father –
You give me life
But it really is hard
You give me mercy
But you don’t stop me from sinning
You give me grace
But it robs me of my sense of pride and accomplishment
You give me family
But there are others whose friendship I would prefer more
You give me those who love me
But they do not love me enough, or the way I want them to
You give me work
But its not what I’m best suited for
You give me an opportunity to earn a living
But its never quite enough
You give me children
But they are troublesome at times, and embarrass me
You give me parents
But they failed me and sinned against me
You give me laws
But they hamper my freedom
You give me freedom
But then make me responsible for what I do
You give me your Word
But its work to study it
You give me prayer
But its boring and awkward
You give me your People
But they are broken and hurt me
You give me your Church
But it takes up most of one day a week, has bad music and needs to be supported
You give me promises of Heaven
But its so far off
You give me extended life
But I get old, weak and sick
You give me vacations
But they are too short
You give me Christian friends
But they sin and I have to forgive them
You give me grace for trials
But that means I’ll have to endure them
You give me limitless love
But then you give it to others too
You give me the honor of being conformed to Christ’s image
But then I have to die to sin
You give me salvation
But only through the Cross
Now, may I ask you for one more thing?
Please grant me a grateful heart, so that I can freely and rightly rejoice in all you have already given – without these sin-stained glasses of mine.
Wow! Kinda hit things on the head in my own thought processes. Convicting.