One of my favorite scenes out of Facing the Giants is the discussion between Coach Grant Taylor and his wife Brooke about God blessing them with a baby. He asks her if she will still love God, even if He doesn’t give them what they want. Eventually Brooke thinks she might be pregnant and goes to the clinic for a pregnancy test. The nurse comes back to tell her it’s negative . . . again. We see her walk out of the doctor’s office, heartbroken. Brooke tells God, “I will still love You.” Then the nurse realizes she’s gotten some names mixed up, that Mrs. Taylor is indeed pregnant and goes running out to share the life-changing message with her.
So my question is: How blessed are you?
I have a black lab whose cataracts are so bad, she’s virtually blind. She runs into things, falls over shoes left on the floor, steps on the cat when Virginia doesn’t move, runs afoul of Pepper when he’s already taken up residence in her bed, and recoils dozens of times a day over things she didn’t know were about to touch her nose. Her comfort level outside decreases almost by the day. But is she blessed? She’s healthy. She’s well-taken care of. She’s very much loved. I’d say that as far as almost 13 year-old blind black labs go, she’s blessed.
We live in a world that increasingly believes that work is a four-letter word. (It is a four-letter word, but not in the context that they mean.) Too many people don’t really want a job; they just want a paycheck. They believe the
government - or some rich dude somewhere - owes them a living. We live in a nation where the idea of entitlement is rampant.
It’s a slippery slope and one that Christians have to be wary of approaching. Except in Christian terms, it sneaks up on us like this: I have some health issues. Some of my relatives/friends are giving me fits. Our insurance rates just went up. The clutch just went out in the pick-up. (It did! This morning! Right in the middle of using it!!) There’s mayhem and madness all around us. Conflicts. Stress. Problems. We sometimes slip into that mindset of “everything’s going wrong, and I’m so depressed.”
It’s the “can’t see the forest for all the trees” syndrome, or perhaps the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Because the reality is, if we belong to God, if we have been redeemed by Jesus our Messiah, we are already so blessed. Everything else is just icing. Think about that for a minute! We will have life eternal, adopted into the very family of God. What could be more wonderful than that single blessing?
Furthermore, Paul says, “For these light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Not only are we so incredibly blessed, but there’s a purpose in the “momentary” troubles that we experience. They are for our growth because God loves us so very much! As Ron Dart used to say, “God doesn’t want to spend eternity with a bunch of losers.” Our perseverance will bear fruit.
But just enduring is not God’s will for us. He wants us to follow Him with rejoicing. A popular comedian says that too many Christians need to send missionaries to their face! That is, they need to smile. What kind of witness are we, why would anyone want what we have, if we project that being a Christian is a depressing, hopeless, joyless condition?!
We can’t focus on the things that are going wrong. There are going to be lots of things that go wrong in this life; it’s part of entropy and our world being subjected to futility and decay. But that’s temporary! In the scheme of things, it’s just small potatoes. And Mom always said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Keep it all in perspective. Remember that God is watching to see who will persevere, enduring to the end. Grandad always said, “You hired on to be tough.” As the KJV says, “Gird up the loins of your mind” in 1 Peter 1:13. In other words, cinch that belt a little tighter and get serious about being a servant of God. The ESV says to “prepare your minds for action.” Then it continues, “ . . . and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
We are so incredibly blessed. I just need to keep my mind centered on that reality.
So my question is: How blessed are you?
I have a black lab whose cataracts are so bad, she’s virtually blind. She runs into things, falls over shoes left on the floor, steps on the cat when Virginia doesn’t move, runs afoul of Pepper when he’s already taken up residence in her bed, and recoils dozens of times a day over things she didn’t know were about to touch her nose. Her comfort level outside decreases almost by the day. But is she blessed? She’s healthy. She’s well-taken care of. She’s very much loved. I’d say that as far as almost 13 year-old blind black labs go, she’s blessed.
We live in a world that increasingly believes that work is a four-letter word. (It is a four-letter word, but not in the context that they mean.) Too many people don’t really want a job; they just want a paycheck. They believe the
government - or some rich dude somewhere - owes them a living. We live in a nation where the idea of entitlement is rampant.
It’s a slippery slope and one that Christians have to be wary of approaching. Except in Christian terms, it sneaks up on us like this: I have some health issues. Some of my relatives/friends are giving me fits. Our insurance rates just went up. The clutch just went out in the pick-up. (It did! This morning! Right in the middle of using it!!) There’s mayhem and madness all around us. Conflicts. Stress. Problems. We sometimes slip into that mindset of “everything’s going wrong, and I’m so depressed.”
It’s the “can’t see the forest for all the trees” syndrome, or perhaps the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Because the reality is, if we belong to God, if we have been redeemed by Jesus our Messiah, we are already so blessed. Everything else is just icing. Think about that for a minute! We will have life eternal, adopted into the very family of God. What could be more wonderful than that single blessing?
Furthermore, Paul says, “For these light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Not only are we so incredibly blessed, but there’s a purpose in the “momentary” troubles that we experience. They are for our growth because God loves us so very much! As Ron Dart used to say, “God doesn’t want to spend eternity with a bunch of losers.” Our perseverance will bear fruit.
But just enduring is not God’s will for us. He wants us to follow Him with rejoicing. A popular comedian says that too many Christians need to send missionaries to their face! That is, they need to smile. What kind of witness are we, why would anyone want what we have, if we project that being a Christian is a depressing, hopeless, joyless condition?!
We can’t focus on the things that are going wrong. There are going to be lots of things that go wrong in this life; it’s part of entropy and our world being subjected to futility and decay. But that’s temporary! In the scheme of things, it’s just small potatoes. And Mom always said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Keep it all in perspective. Remember that God is watching to see who will persevere, enduring to the end. Grandad always said, “You hired on to be tough.” As the KJV says, “Gird up the loins of your mind” in 1 Peter 1:13. In other words, cinch that belt a little tighter and get serious about being a servant of God. The ESV says to “prepare your minds for action.” Then it continues, “ . . . and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
We are so incredibly blessed. I just need to keep my mind centered on that reality.
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