– John 16: 33
TAKE HEART!
When we think of the promises of God we usually think about His blessings. Especially in this country where we have so much and we are all so blessed – we think of prosperity, and peace, joy, and an abundant life, and we hold on to the hope of eternal life with Him. All of these are very good things and we should always think on them.
On the other hand, Jesus also promises us that as long as we are here on this planet, we will have tribulation. We will have trials and troubles, and we will be persecuted, and lied about, and talked about, and accused of things we didn't do. We will be shunned by the world for loving and believing in Jesus. We will get sick, and we will have to watch horrible things happen to those we love. That's just the way it is – and the it will always be – for as long as we live.
As Americans, sometimes we forget that for much of the world, an Abundant Life could mean having just enough food for not one, but maybe two small meals a day. Prosperity could mean having hand-me-down shoes. Peace could be moment-to-moment, and Grace could mean that the mortar shells missed your home last night.
The troubles that we in America have to deal with are very different from the rest of the world, and sometimes we must seem like spoiled children to our Father when our prayers are so self centered and trite. Sometimes we complain way too much about what we don't have, when we should be thanking Him for giving so freely to us. We should be able to handle our troubles with more faith – especially in light of the fact that our God has blessed us to be able to live in such a rich country and with so much freedom.
We should really recognize that we have found God's favor over all the other countries in the world. No where else on this blue marble in space )in my opinion), do so many people enjoy the abundance of life that we do. Oh sure, there are those of us who have more, and there are those of us who have less, but we have all been chosen to live in this blessed place at this time in history. So what are we going to do about it? How should we be living our lives and where should we be focusing our attention?
First I think we need to stop right now and thank our Father for giving so freely and richly to us. We need to thank Him for sparing us from the terrible depths of poverty, and war, and famine, and drought, and genocide that many people in this world face every day. We need to thank Him for running water (especially hot water). We need to get down on our knees and praise Him for indoor bathrooms. We should all open our closets this morning and shower God with gratitude for the ridiculous amount of shoes that we have, and the ability to choose a different clean outfit every day. We need to stand in front of our refrigerators (and first of all thank Him for the refrigerator), and open the doors and sing praises of thanksgiving for the meals that are already supplied and just waiting to be prepared. We need to lay our hands on our children and thank Him for the hopes and dreams that He has placed in each one – and the fact that they live in a place where those hopes and dreams can be realized.
We, each one of us, need to stand in front of a mirror, look ourselves in the eye, and humbly ask our Father in heaven, the Creator of ALL things, the one who breathed life into each one of us, for forgiveness for taking all that He has so freely given us for granted. We need to ask Him to forgive our petty, self-centered, prideful prayers and we need to repent from our unbelief of His Word because It says that we should be taking heart – having hope – having faith, because He has overcome the trials and tribulations of this world . . . just – for – us.
Prayer
Father, I am so sorry for always focusing on the things that I want and don't have. My trials and troubles, while very real and big to me, should not be what I come to You with every day. You know what they are and You have already promised that You will supply me the grace to overcome them. I repent of this self-centered way that I have been approaching You. I thank You father, for this wonderful life that You have blessed me with. I thank You for my awesome wife - she is always a blessing and a help to me. I thank You for my son – he is my joy and You have blessed him with the ability to move people's hearts. I thank You for my step daughter - she is pure light to our family and our grandchildren are a constant reminder of the miracles You bless me with each day. I thank You for my step son – he loves You so much and he works so hard to provide for his family. I thank you for my entire family and all my friends Lord – You have provided me with the richness of their wisdom. I thank You for my job and the people that I get to interact with every day – I pray that I can be a good representative of Your kingdom to them. Most of all Lord, I want to thank You for calling me to this time and this place in history. I pray that I can effect change in this world and that others will come to know You because of the life that You have given me and the path that You have set my feet on. Help me to live well and to show Jesus to everyone around me.
Have a blessed day everyone!
– Richard
Amen and Amen!!
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