I Cried Because I Had No Shoes

photo credit: Kristen Hatcher

My granny used to say, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." It was her way of reminding me to be thankful for what I had instead of complaining about what I lacked.

Thankfulness is a very biblical concept. The apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, reminds us to give thanks "in everything." Notice that he didn't say to give thanks for everything, but in everything. This seemingly insignificant little preposition conveys a world of meaning.

Giving thanks in everything means I don't have to deny the harsh reality that some parts of life are difficult, cruel, tragic, and sad.

Giving thanks in everything means I acknowledge that I serve God, not that He serves me. The opposite of thankfulness, ingratitude, implies that God isn't serving me well enough. It carries with it the expectation that God owes me a certain standard of comfort, provision, and satisfaction. When He fails to live up to my standards, I am free to complain.

The truth is that God owes me nothing. The late Dr. Jerry Falwell often said, "If God never did another thing for me after he saved me, I would still be eternally in his debt." Dr. Fallwell understood thankfulness.

Giving thanks in everything means instead of looking outward at my circumstances, I look upward to see what God is doing in my life. My pastor once shared words of wisdom he received from a woman diagnosed with cancer. "Every day I look around to see evidences of God's care for me," she told him. When we choose to look for God's graces toward us, we never fail to find them.

Giving thanks in everything changes nothing about my circumstances but everything about my heart. It helps me place my trust in my heavenly Father who knows exactly what I need and exactly what I don't need. Choosing thankfulness helps me humbly submit my will to God's, knowing that He will withhold no good thing from me. Because He promises to meet all my needs "according to His riches and glory," I can rest assured that if God hasn't provided it, I don't need it.

Today I choose to give thanks in everything. Will you join me?  I invite you to leave a comment below telling me what you are thankful for today.

Here is a portion of my thankful list: 

I am thankful for:

sunshine

a warm bed

kind friends

a church family

purpose

chocolate covered almonds

the Holy Spirit's constant companionship

words of encouragement

daughters

answered prayers

unanswered prayers, for they are the answered prayers of tomorrow

music

plumbing

hope

28 years of marriage 

words

salvation

maple walnut ice cream

warm puppies

freedom

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How Well Can You See?

 My dog Winston is part cat. 

 Don't tell him I said that, but it's true. He loves to curl up in the sunny spot at the foot of my bed and snooze. He tucks his long red tail under his nose so the white tip lies like a mustache on an impeccably groomed southern gentleman and sighs with pleasure. 

This morning he was in his usual spot while I had morning devotions. The South Carolina sun was streaming through the window, and he was full of sleepy doggy bliss when something disturbed his rest. Something was tapping at the window. 

In a metamorphosis that would have rivaled Clark Kent in a telephone booth, Winston went from a comatose canine to a hunting dog on point. Ears alert, eyes straining, he was ready to take on whatever threatened his domestic domicile. 

Winston had a problem, though. The morning mist had fogged the glass, so that instead of a clear view of the trespasser, all Winston could see were shadows and shapes. Winston couldn't see clearly enough through the glass to determine if the source of the noise was a bird, a squirrel, or the meter reader. 

Sometimes we have the same problem. Scripture describes it this way: 

"But now, we see through a glass darkly" (1 Cor. 13:12). 

Sometimes we try to peer into the future of our lives, and all we see are shapes and shadows. Sometimes we look back and see the same. Sometimes we experience trials, hardships, and sadnesses for which we can't see a purpose. 

As believers, we have wonderful promises from God to hold onto when we can't see clearly. Romans 8:28 is one of them. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose." 

One of my favorite verses is a promise that reminds us to take the long view of our lives. It refocuses our blurred vision from near-sighted to far-sighted. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9). 

Unlike Winston, who can't see the squirrels through the foggy glass, God has perfect vision. He gives us promises like these so that when we don't understand our current situation, we can trust him, El Roi, the God Who sees, to help us respond in a way that brings him glory. 

If you are experiencing a challenging situation right now, I encourage you to "fix (y)our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:2). If you keep your eyes on him, you cannot go astray. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Is. 26:3).

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