Gratitude

God has been working on me in the area of gratitude. A number of physical infirmities have come my way recently. It’s is not so much that I have been grumbling and complaining about these things, it is more that I have taken my eyes of the good things God is giving me.

It is so easy to become so absorbed in momentary difficulties that we miss God’s blessings. Let me give you an example. In 2001 I was enjoying an effective ministry in Nepal. God was doing amazing things and I was seeing him work through me and others. In the midst of this, I developed a pinch nerve in my neck that was very painful. We went to Singapore and I had surgery. I then had to wear a neck brace for several months. I didn’t care for either of those experiences. My attention was drawn to my ailments, forgetting many of the blessings I had received, like expert care and immediate pain relief.

I hadn’t bothered to thank God for these and other blessings. Then, as I was entering the doctor’s office for a follow-up exam, I held the door open for a tiny toddler and her parents. The toddler was also in a big brace and bandaged. I was immediately struck by how fortunate I was. I was an adult better equipped to handle my circumstances, by God’s grace, than this child. Also I wasn’t watching my child suffer as her parents were. God had given me the privilege of serving him and watching him move and bless others through me. I needed to be humbled and thank him for his many great and wonderful gifts.

Ephesians 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” And I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”