In Thy Presence, Lord

Thankfulness is the cause of true contentment and true joy.  However, we all have come up with so many excuses and reasons for why we shouldn’t be content, why we don't feel happy, why we are justified in not being joyful, why life is just too hard and too unfair for us to ever be thankful, as if our feelings are a justified explanation.  If we could simply get the focus off of ourselves and onto God and others we might be able to see the reasons why we have so much to be happy, joyful, thankful and grateful for, even when we don’t FEEL it inside. 

We say; “You just don’t understand, see, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I didn’t have my coffee, my kids are out of control, my house is a wreck, I ran out of gas on my way to work, my job is incredibly stressful, I couldn’t afford to eat at a five star restaurant so I had to settle for McDonalds, I spilled ketchup on my white shirt, etc…etc…”   Such a hard life we lead.  Jesus probably wouldn’t know anything about such trials. After all, He only died on a cross.  He probably doesn’t know what it’s like to deny himself, his flesh and his needs, to act contrary to His feelings.  Life must have been so easy for him compared to all that we have to go through.

  

Alright, when we think of it in that light our petty concerns do sound rather foolish, don’t they?  But yet we continue to cater to them and use them as a crutch and excuse for why we should be allowed to have a pity party. We know nothing about what it is truly like to die to ourselves and suffer all that Christ had to suffer.  He not only was persecuted in many ways, was falsely accused and died on a cross; he had to suffer the wrath and judgment of God, the punishment for sins which He never committed.  He was innocent, yet He chose to pay the debt we owed so that we could live in freedom from the bondage of sin. Yet we continually choose to bind ourselves with our selfish desires and self focused hearts.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:24-27; “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

And in Romans 13:14; “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” 

God knows our needs. He understands and cares for our well being.  There is no need for us to worry about anything because God is watching out for us and will supply all our needs.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." -Matthew 6:25-34

We must die completely to our flesh, die to ourselves, and surrender all to Jesus Christ.  We must pick up our cross daily and follow in his footsteps no matter how we feel.  We are so blessed that we are not alone in this journey.  We serve a merciful, loving God who has been in the same place we are in and He understands what we are going through.  He will sustain us, strengthen us, give us a peace that passes our understanding and a joy and contentment in knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us.  Even when the road is rough, we must choose to press on to finish the race.  Once we begin to proceed and act contrary to our feelings, choosing to be joyful, choosing a heart of praise and thanksgiving, we will soon find that our feelings change as our heart and focus changes.

I think Ann Voskamp expresses it perfectly in her book “A Thousand Gifts”:

“While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.  True saints know that the place where all joy comes from is far deeper than that of feelings; joy comes from the very presence of God.” 

“In Thy presence, Lord, is fullness of joy.”  -Psalm 16:11

Do you feel full of joy?  If not, perhaps you have not been spending enough time in the presence of the Lord.

“The joy of the Lord is my strength.”  -Nehemiah 8:10

Are you running out of strength?  Are you feeling weak and disheartened?  Maybe you are not availing yourself of God’s supernatural joy and strength which can carry us through even when our strength is gone. His strength is perfect.

So friends, lay your cares at the foot of Christ, let go of your feelings and choose today to;

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In EVERYTHING give thanks!”

Stop & Look Up

After I had completed a book signing event, I was packing the extra books and promotional items in my car when I heard my friend suddenly exclaim; “I never noticed those there before.”

I turned to face her and saw her head tilted back looking up at the sky.  I too turned my head upward and saw a bright blue sky with puffy, white, popcorn clouds and I smiled and jokingly replied; “What? The clouds?”  She laughed and shook her head.

“No, those shoes,” she replied, pointing to a pair of old shoes that were hanging by their shoelaces above us on the power line.  I had already noticed them hanging there before but I couldn’t resist teasing her.  Later that same week she and I were admiring a friends beautiful photograph of the sun spilling out through cracks in the clouds and shooting sunbeams across the bright, blue sky.

“I love looking at the pictures you take. I was outside on the same day you were taking those pictures but I was looking down at the ground and thinking how dry it was,” my friend commented.

“You need to look up more often,” I said, both of us thinking back to the incident with the shoes.  We smiled.  It’s true though.  There’s so much to be seen and so much to enjoy in God’s creation if we just took the time to look up from our troubles and notice them.  This friend was the one who first inspired me to begin my thankfulness journal and consequently this blog.  This particular subject brought it all back to mind in a flash.  Both of us began discussing where we were in our thankfulness journals and about the blessings we had recorded inside.  Both of us agreed that at first it was easy to record the blessings around us but after a while it began to get old and seemed like more of a chore or a numbers game.  It had become difficult to find new blessings and record them. 

So lately, instead of looking at it as something I have to do, I look at it as something I get to do. It’s not about reaching the 1,000 mark as I number each blessing in my journal.  I don’t try to rush the process.  I simply try to keep alert and observant to my surroundings and in tune to what God and others are doing to bless me.  I enjoy each blessing as it comes and record it in my journal whenever I can find the time.  Sometimes I even write reminders on my cell phone so that I don’t forget to record them.  This journal is my thanks to God. I write it as though I am speaking to Him.  I get excited about it and look forward to being able to thank Him as much as I can.  I may have five in a day or five in a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.  It all depends on my focus.  Each entry is something entirely new that I am thanking Him for, however, that doesn’t mean I don’t thank Him for the usual and regular blessings that happen every day. My thankful heart and gratitude is something I can actually give back to God.  

When we do something really special for a loved one wouldn’t it be such a disappointment if that person didn’t even take the time to notice it, appreciate it, use it, enjoy it and be thankful for it?  What if they did the exact opposite?  What if they ignored it, undervalued it, abused it, grumbled and complained about it not being as much or as often as we wanted it to be?  Wouldn’t that just take the blessing away?  It’s hard to be and to give a blessing to someone who doesn’t value it.  What if, like God, you really valued the gift you have given, the service you have shown, the sacrifice you’ve made?  What if you knew that once you bestowed this precious, sacred, invaluable, irreplaceable gift in their possession that they would abuse, use, break, undervalue and destroy it?  Would you still give it to them?  God does this for us every day yet too often we overlook His blessings.  He has trusted us with the world and everything in it even though time and time again we have proven ourselves untrustworthy, ungrateful and very slothful in our care of it. 

The blessing of health, life, food, money, safety, clothes, a home, bed, job, family, friends, pets, nature, changing seasons, books, music, pictures, etc… What if all those things were taken away?  Sometimes we do have to suffer the loss of one or two of these things but rarely does one loose all at once and when we do lose just one of these things we cry, complain, throw a fit and blame God for not being there when we needed Him, when in reality He has been there all along in each little blessing and providing those blessings and maintaining them even though He receives little if any thanks in return.  Yet He still bestows His blessings hoping that one day we will learn to value what He values. 

But how can we when we are always looking down?  Down at the all the mess of life instead of up into the joys and blessings of the beautiful sunset or sunrise, the breathtaking cloud formations, the deer grazing in a field, the colorful wings on the butterfly, our children’s excited faces, our parents love and acceptance, our husband or our wife’s sacrifices and service, our friends sweet note or text letting us know we’re in their thoughts and prayers, our church body who brought food or provided a vehicle when our spouse or parent was out of a job.  All these lovely things are overlooked as instead we choose to look down.  Down at the dry ground instead of up and the glorious sky.  We miss so much. 

What a joy it is when you can lay down your cares and worries at the feet of Jesus and take time to enjoy His blessings.  When was the last time you did that?  When have you stopped your hectic life and took a drive down an old dirt road, rolling down the widows, sticking out your hand and letting the cool air whip through your fingers and wisps of hair, the occasional drops of rain splashing down on your smiling face and looking out at the rustic, old houses and barns, the fields of wheat and corn, the gnarly old tress with vines growing up their massive old grey trunks and admiring the large grooves of bark, the sun spilling through the rustling leaves, the tree branches that make an arch over the road, the old rope swing tied to a high branch and the sunset at the end of the clearing.  So many blessings.  You must learn to enjoy them and take the time to thank the Lord for each one for one day you may be too old to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel them.  Enjoy it now.  Take the time to stop and look up.

While you look up today, tell me what you see. Thank God for all those blessings surrounding you and if and when you have a moment, please take the time to share them with us all by writing your comment to this blog post. I love to hear how the Lord is blessing your life.

Every Moment, Praise God!

This week has been full of many moments. Moments of praise, moments of seeking, moments of worship and moments of trusting God.  And in each of these moments I have had to stop and thank Him for His faithfulness and goodness to me in the midst of great victories, trials, blessings and tribulations. 

Happy moments?  I had many this week but I will share just two. 

I was able to greatly rejoice as I witnessed my three youngest sisters baptized after church.  What a blessing to see them choosing to boldly testify of what God has done in their life before the church congregation.  As they were immersed in water they figuratively buried the old sinful self and were raised to walk in newness of life in the light and truth of Jesus Christ.

Another very personal blessing, the greatest of my life, is that six years ago, on September 5^th I surrendered my heart, soul, mind and strength to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  From that moment on my life was forever changed. It has been amazing to look back over the years and see God’s blessing and hand upon my life. I have come so far yet I have so far still to go and I rejoice in the journey and growth ahead of me. I thank God for the many who have played a part in my spiritual journey.

Difficult moments? This week seemed to have more than I thought I could bear but Jesus was my life, my strength, my song. In the midst of the confusion, family tension, loneliness, discouragement and trails, His love lifted me and His peace sustained me.

Quiet moments? Those are precious and few and I am always so thankful for those times to be alone with God to worship and praise Him. It is in these quiet moments that He speaks to my heart, comforts me, lifts my spirits, gives me a peace, hope and joy and helps me to carry on when I feel I cannot.  If it were not for these moments with Him I would not be able to cope with the rest of life.

Painful moments? There seem to be too many to count these days. The tears have fallen so often that now it seems no longer possible to cry and in those moments I just feel my heart ache with a pain that seems too hard to bear.  And in those moments God reaches down and says; “This burden is too hard for you to carry, Robin. Give it to me. I will bear it all.” 

In each of these moments, though I may not have recognized it then, I have always had a reason to thank God.  Always. 

What about you?  It’s easy to thank and praise God when everything seems to be going your way.  But what about those moments when everything is going terribly wrong?  When the bills come in and you’ve lost your job?  When a loved one dies unexpectedly?  When no one seems to understand? When people are prejudging, falsely accusing, abandoning, hurting, lying, using, and betraying you?  What then?  Look for the blessing behind the pain and ask God to help you see things through His loving eyes. 

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” –Philippians 4:11

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:20

What are you thankful for this week?