…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:6 (NIV)

I’ve been thinking quite a bit over the past week about a blog for the end of 2011 and/or the beginning of 2012. More accurately, I’ve been thinking I need to write such a blog…and I’ve had no idea what I might write.

Tonight I sat down to write a blog and it seemed to go in a different direction with each paragraph. Every paragraph was connected in my mind, but I was certain that there was little connection that actually made its way into written word.

As I paused to think about it, I realized it was the blog for the end of the year! (Thank You, Lord!) It’s a blog about the themes that God has been highlighting in my life over the past year – sort of a “year in review” of the “God-whispers” (more like shouts, actually) for 2011. So here we go.

Early in the year, God highlighted obedience by prompting our “Let’s be PC!” series. We haven’t exhausted the topics of obedience yet, so there may be additional installments in the series, but God was taking me back to basics. Obedience starts with the basics. As I look through my blogs over the past year, I see that obedience was a topic that came up again and again in many blogs that weren’t part of the Let’s be PC series. Lord, keep my heart inclined toward quick obedience!

During the spring, God began to impress upon me the need to believe and trust Him in a greater way – to actually live in faith. I am convinced that there is an underlying peace that comes from the confidence of knowing God is in control. I’m also convinced that living in faith puts us on the cutting edge with God…and I like that! I’m not always living it, but I’m sure working toward that goal. Lord remind me of Your power and presence throughout every day.

As spring turned to summer, God’s theme was praise – awesome, constant and glorious praise of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! I enjoyed it! In retrospect, we had an extremely busy summer with work and ministry. I know I was exhausted when it was over and I only went to the beach once. Yet what I remember most were the Friday Night Praises we planned and the singing of His praises throughout the week. Lord, You are worthy of our Praise! Hallelujah – Praise the Lord!

That praise theme turned into a theme of thanksgiving as we moved into the fall season. A blog I wrote three weeks ago haunts me. In The High Cost of Not Giving Thanks I quoted Romans 1:21.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. 
Romans 1:21 (NLT)

I wrote in that blog that there is a direct connection between an ungrateful heart and a spiritual darkness that brings confusion and leads to foolish actions. I’ve discovered that an ungrateful heart stems from a self-focus that is inconsistent with all that God wants from me. The ungrateful heart makes everything all about me. Nothing is exactly as I want it to be so I won’t be satisfied with it. I so don’t want to live my life that way. Oh, Lord, keep me from having an ungrateful heart.

As I’ve reviewed the themes of 2011, I see a progression:

Living in obedience…

Increases our faith as we see God move in response to our obedience…

Which leads us to praise God for working in our lives…

Which leads us to thanksgiving!

Such a progression excites me…I want to be the person that lives in the continuing cycle of obedience, faith, praise and thanksgiving.

Reviewing the themes also reminds me that I have so much more to learn in each area. I wonder, which of these four areas do you need to focus on? I would love to improve in all of them.

I also wonder…where will God take us in 2012? What will our first theme be? How will the year progress?

I don’t know yet! Here we are in that week between Christmas and New Year’s and God hasn’t’ spoken to me about a theme for 2012 yet. I have some inklings, but nothing concrete. So be in prayer with me, friends. And not just prayer – be in faith with me – that He who began a good work in you and in me will bring it to completion! Thank You, Lord!

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thess 5:18 (NIV)

Yesterday’s blog identified four benefits of regularly giving thanks:

• We are being obedient to God’s will. Obedience is always honored by God.
• It keeps us humble by regularly reminding us that we’re not the source of all the good things that happen in our lives.
• It builds our faith by reminding us of God’s faithfulness and goodness to us.
• It shelters us from the sin of ingratitude.

This last benefit might seem like a small thing, but read this verse from Romans. I’m including it in two translations:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21 (NIV)

 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. 
Romans 1:21 (NLT)

Two blogs ago, I wrote about the direct connection between an attitude of gratefulness and being made whole mind, body and spirit. We see the antithesis of that in this verse – that there is a direct connection between an ungrateful heart and a spiritual darkness that brings confusion and foolish actions.

When we discipline ourselves to consistently and regularly rejoice over what God has done in our lives, we reinforce in our minds (and spirits) truths about who God is and how He interacts with His people.

When we allow complaining and whining to take center stage, we reinforce lies that the enemy is whispering in our ears – God doesn’t love me, God won’t provide what I need, God isn’t interested in blessing me, God is not good to me. Our thinking becomes “futile” and we begin to think up “foolish ideas” about God, His character and His actions. Ultimately, our hearts and minds become “dark and confused.” That sounds a lot like depression to me. I’ve experienced serious depression. Dark and confused does a pretty good job of describing it. I didn’t like it.

I prefer the happy face of celebration. I’m not saying that all depression can be healed by giving thanks, but it’s a fantastic way to start…and I’m confident that some depression is healed through this spiritual discipline.

Why? Because when I am regularly reminded that all I have comes from God and that He is constantly faithful in my life, it develops a sense of contentment and peace in the very center of my being. And I like that. A lot.

So, friends, this Christmas season, what is at the forefront of your mind – the stress of the season, or the blessings from a God who gave up heaven so that we might one day gain it? Let’s agree to focus on the latter and to regularly give thanks for the innumerable ways He’s blessed us. It will significantly impact your Christmas season.

Let me leave you with this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude…To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service.

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, [says the Lord,]
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23

In yesterday’s blog, we learned that giving thanks opens the way for God to show us His salvation (Psalm 50:23)

 But how can such a simple discipline have such a huge impact?

Supernaturally, of course! But there is logic to it!

 When we give thanks, it is an acknowledgement to God and the world, that all that we have comes from the Hand of God. It reminds us that we’re not the source of all the good that happens in our lives. That brings us to a place of humility. And that’s like an insurance policy against pride.

Both James and Peter quote Proverbs 3:34 when they wrote “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

When we give thanks, then, we are nurturing our humility and God gives grace to the humble. Developing a thankful heart puts us in a position to receive God’s grace. God’s salvation is found in the grace that He pours out on the heart that is humble.

When we strengthen our muscle of thanksgiving, it shelters us from the sin of ingratitude. It shows that we don’t take God’s gifts for granted. The act of giving thanks keeps us from becoming ungrateful.

When we give thanks, we are reminding ourselves of God’s constant faithfulness in our lives and that builds our faith.

The Israelites were instructed again and again to REMEMBER what God had done and to give thanks for it. They were instructed to teach their children what God had done. Why? Because it built their faith. If God had parted the Red Sea to save them from the Egyptian army and sure defeat, he could be trusted to beat any current enemy they were facing. If He had provided manna in the desert and made bitter water pure, He could be trusted to provide food those things in their lives again.

When we give thanks, we are reminding ourselves of God’s faithfulness – and that brings hope and an expectation that what He has done in the past, He will do again in our present and in the future. I sure need that. I love the Lord and have faith that He is always with me, that all He does is for my good, that He will provide for my needs, that He will…you get the idea. Yet I sure need to remind myself of what he’s done in the past sometimes. When I’m tired or stressed or frustrated or discouraged or…again, you get the idea. At those times, my faith needs to be reminded that we’ve been here before and God has shown up in a mighty way. He always has. He always will.

There is at least one additional benefit of giving thanks – When we give thanks, we are being obedient to God.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thess 5:18 (NIV)

It doesn’t get much clearer than that – it is God’s will that we give thanks in all circumstances. Not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. There are always things to give thanks for, even in the worst of circumstances. And when we find those things (especially in the worst of circumstances), we are humbling ourselves, we are honoring God, we are and we are putting ourselves in a position for God to show us His great salavation.

Just as the ten lepers were being obedient as they went to show themselves to the priest (Luke 17:11-19), when we give thanks, we are being obedient to what God has told us to do. And the faithful God that we serve will bless that thankfulness, just as he blessed the obedience of the lepers.

God doesn’t just tell us to do things on a whim – He tells us to do things that are for our good – to teach us to live a life that blesses Him and that He in turn can bless. He commands us to do things because they’re good for us! So when we give thanks, we experience blessings beyond simply the assurance of having been obedient.

Tomorrow’s blog – The High Cost of Not Giving Thanks!

Let’s start with a story from Jesus’ life.

       ¹¹Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
     ¹⁴When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
     ¹⁷Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you whole.”
Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)

As they were going – they were cleansed.

But one man, after being cleansed returned to Jesus and gave thanks. Jesus said to this man “your faith has made you whole.”

Notice the difference in the words used in this passage – ten men were cleansed; only one man was made whole.

There’s a difference between being cleansed and being made whole. The word translated “made whole,” – sodzo – means so much more than cleansed. It means “made whole in mind, body and spirit.” It is translated throughout the New Testament as “save” or “saved.”

An Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and used the word in this passage:

^20b “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save (sodzo) his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20b-21 (NIV)

It doesn’t just mean cleansed from the disease of leprosy, it means made fully whole – spiritually healed as well as physically and emotionally.

What was it that made him whole – that saved him? Jesus said it was the man’s faith. When the word is translated more fully, the phrase would read “your reliance on Christ” has made you whole.”

But what about the other nine? Did they not rely on Christ? It would seem not. It would seem that somewhere between Jesus saying “go, show yourselves to the priests” and the one man returning to give thanks the nine didn’t make the faith connection.

• Maybe they simply rushed past the event in their excitement of being healed and didn’t recognize that it was Christ who did the healing.
• Maybe they thought it was a crazy coincidence.
• Maybe they attributed the healing to their obedience instead of God’s hand. Now I don’t doubt that their obedience impacted their healing, but if their attitude was “I was healed because I was obedient,” that’s not faith – it’s not relying on Christ to be made whole.

This passage only identifies one man as having made whole and that’s the man who returned to give thanks to Jesus. I don’t want to stretch Scripture too far, but what I see is a direct connection between an attitude of gratefulness and being made whole. Don’t misunderstand me – it is our faith in Christ – our reliance on Him – that saves us. Rather, the direct connection I’m making is that somehow, gratefulness, being thankful, changes our heart and puts us in a better position to receive God’s great gift of salvation.

Check out this verse:

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, [says the Lord,]
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23

Wow! Scripture says that giving thanks, prepares the way for God to show us His salvation. I love this verse. It has such significance.

• Do you need physical healing? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need emotional healing? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need rescuing from your enemies? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need to experience the presence of God? Has He seemed distance? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Are you looking for a way to stay Christ-focused this Christmas? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

In all cases it honors God and prepares the way so that He may show you His salvation – healing of mind, body and spirit.

Practice it today – give thanks. Then practice it tomorrow. And the next day and the next day and the next day. Develop a lifestyle of honoring God by giving thanks and He will show you His salvation in greater and greater ways.

Be blessed as you bless God, friends.

Tomorrow’s blog – More about how giving thanks opens the way for God to show us His salvation!

in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

We live in the midst of a culture that specializes in complaining, but God encourages us to be counter-culture. No, that’s not correct. God does more than encourage us to be counter-culture – He makes it clear that it is His will for us. Did you catch that? God’s will for you is that you give thanks. Put another way, you are fulfilling God’s will for your life when you are giving thanks. OK, perhaps not God’s entire will for your life, but His will never-the-less.

Let’s take it to heart this month – in everything, give thanks – for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Many people are putting a daily message on Facebook proclaiming their thankfulness to God. Whether you make it public on Facebook, Tweet your thanks, add comments below this blog, or share your thanksgiving with your family – let’s make it a month of giving thanks – maybe it’ll turn into a lifestyle! Then we’ll be fulfilling God’s will for our lives.

Let me know how it goes!

As for me, I’ll start the month by being thankful to God for the purposes and plans He has for me and His enabling power to grow into those purposes and plans. I’m thankful that 32 years ago God opened my eyes to His great love for me and I invited Christ to be Savior of my life. What a good God He is!

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2 (NIV)

It’s been more than two weeks since my last blog. Sometimes life has a way of refocusing us. While writing my blog is incredibly important to me, over the past couple of weeks challenging priorities have sprung up in all other areas of my life. Blog writing had to take a back seat. Finally this morning, however, I was able to sit and write. What a joy for me. Before posting that blog, however, I thought it appropriate to step back into the ring, so to speak, with thanksgiving and praise. Thankfulness has helped keep the dark clouds away over the past few weeks. When I was tempted to slide into depression or be overtaken by the waves of overwhelming circumstances, thankfulness grounded me. Speaking out the things that I was thankful for (not just remembering them in my mind) returned order to my life in the midst of chaos.

Notice what it says in Psalm 8:2 – that praise silences the foe and the avenger. As I thanked God for His tremendous goodness, it was a form of praising Him for who He is and what He’s done, and it silenced my emotional foes and defeated my enemy. An interesting tidbit before I include my praises here: The word translated “praise” in the NIV also means boldness, power and strength. Praise gives us courage to be bold. It gives us power to do the right thing, and it gives us strength when our strength is depleted. I found thankfulness to be a reliable friend over the past couple of weeks.

Here are just some of the things I am thankful for (listed in no particular order). I hope the list reminds you of things you can praise God for today – in the midst of whatever you might be facing.

• Opportunities to serve God.
• Lots of customers with checkbooks to pay for their needs.
• The ability to work.
• Family who cares about me and my family.
• Friends who help hold me together.
• A wonderful dog who blessed our lives for many years.
• A husband who walks (runs and tumbles) through life with me.
• Blog readers who encourage me.
• Taxes – because they pay for the government that protects me from things I couldn’t protect myself from.
• Taxes – because they mean that I have had income this year.
• Beautiful blue skies and white puffy clouds.
• Rainy, overcast days in which to hibernate with a cup of tea and a fun puzzle.
• A father in heaven and a Father in heaven.
• A mother on earth who continues to teach me how to live.
• Growing in grace.
• God’s mercy.
• The ability to travel – to see and experience more of God’s creation.
• The ability to study God’s Word – alone and with others.
• Fun.

Here’s my challenge to you: Create your own list being careful to keep entry short. As I wrote the list, I was tempted to add caveats at the end of each line.

For example, my list says “opportunities to serve God.” What I was tempted to write was “opportunities to serve God even when it’s inconvenient or adds stress to my busy schedule.”

Resist this urge to caveat your praise. Lord, I am thankful – I praise You, Lord – for opportunities to serve you. Period. The caveat reminds me of my stress and expresses just a touch of dissatisfaction with the praise. Don’t do it! Let’s just praise Him. He knows the caveats. He knows the stress He’s allowing me to experience and enabling me to withstand.

So go on – make your own list. It will keep you from being pulled under by waves of overwhelming circumstances and will give you strength to pursue God in the midst. You can count on it!

Comment on this post (below or on Facebook) telling us the top three things you’re thankful for. Trust me…telling others what you’re thankful for increases the strength of your thanksgiving – “speaking” it to the world makes it more real in your mind, strengthens those around you, and gives greater glory to God.

Be blessed, friends.

He was wearing a baseball cap that appeared to have some war veteran insignia on it. I was immediately humbled.

I don’t know the gentleman and I didn’t stop to talk to him, but I imagine that he lost his legs serving his country (and mine) in a war many, many years ago. Perhaps that’s not his story, but it is the story of many.

So perhaps for the first time, I really (I mean really) thought about this man and those he represents. I imagined returning home from war with no legs and the tremendous struggle that must have been so many years ago. Then I imagined the lifetime this man has lived without his legs. And I was so very aware that I live every day enjoying a lifestyle that very well may not have been possible without the service and sacrifice of this man and others like him.

I can’t express the thankfulness that welled up in my heart.

Then God took the teachable moment a step further. He reminded me of how easily I give in to the temptation to complain. My back hurts. My sinuses burn. My have a headache. My car windshield wiper motor isn’t working properly. My house is a mess. My customers have unrealistic expectations. The weather is too hot/cold/humid/dry. I could go on. Unfortunately sometimes I do. It doesn’t glorify God.

His word tells me to “do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14). It also tells me that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 13a). Further, it tells me that I am “blessed beyond the curse” (a simplification and paraphrase of Galatians 3:13-14).

When I focus on these things, how can I complain about the small things I mentioned above? The obvious answer is that I cannot, so I must be focusing on the wrong things. More about that in a minute.

When I complain, I am not only letting the enemy win over my attitude, I am also letting society influence me more than God’s Word. America has become a society of complainers. I don’t know when that happened, but I don’t think it was always so. I can’t imagine the pioneers travelling across the country complaining all the way. I rather think they were expectant about their adventure and endured adversity because of their anticipation of things to come. Reminds me a bit of Jesus – read Hebrews 12:2.

I don’t remember adults from my childhood sitting around complaining. I can’t think of a single person from my childhood whose life was characterized by complaining.

As an adult, I can name many. And when I am with them, I sometimes get tired of being what seems like “Miss Pollyanna,” so I join in their complaining. I follow the crowd. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m quite capable of initiating the complaining, so I’m not in any way blaming them for my sin. I’m pointing out the multiplication of my sin – the sin is mine not only for complaining, but for following the crowd instead of responding to God’s higher call.

That’s not the person God wants me to be, and it’s not the person I want to be. Again, when we remember all that Christ has done, how can we consider complaining? A Scripture that often comes to mind is:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

Our focus will impact our thoughts, actions and words. When we focus on what we have to complain about, it is very difficult not to complain. When we focus on how blessed we are in Christ, it is difficult not to be thankful.

Thankfulness and complaining cannot live together in harmony. The complaint robs the thankfulness of its substance. It weakens the impact that being thankful has in our lives. It kills the joy that might otherwise spring from the thankful heart.

God is the author of thankfulness; satan is the author of complaining. We have the power to choose whom we will serve. With the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the enabling power of God Almighty, I choose to serve the Lord.

It’s not the Fourth of July, Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day, but I want to thank all those who have served our country in a uniform of the armed forces. Thank you for giving sacrificially so that I may live in freedom today. I bless you in the name of Jesus to live in peace, joy and the awesome presence of God.

Friends, will you join me in blessing those who have served today. Pray for them and for those who continue to serve to preserve our freedom.

Further, will you agree with me to serve the Lord instead of satan with your attitude? Choose to focus on thankfulness and allow complaining to die before it is ever spoken. Your thanksgiving muscle will grow and your complaining muscle will weaken. And that’s such a better way to live!

Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?
Romans 2:4 (NLT)

Perhaps there are times when you can’t think of anything to be thankful for. Life has come crashing down upon you and your “thank you” muscle is at least temporarily silenced. I was reading Dr. David Jeremiah’s book Captivated by Grace and he pointed out how thankful we ought to be for God’s kindness, patience and tolerance. Without it, we’d be toast! Even when life crashes in, in the midst of the sad, discouraging or hurtful circumstances, we can be thankful that our God is a kind, patient and tolerant God.

Jeremiah reminds his reader that God knows our every intention (see 1 Chronicles 28:9). Not only our actions, but our intention. He knows when we’ve done that good deed not to show Christ to the world, but for some personal prestige or gain. He knows when our thoughts are the polar opposite of our actions. As Jeremiah puts it:

“The Spirit of God dwells among the file cabinets of your mind…Truly understanding the implications of that, we would be taken by uncontrollable fear if His character were not kind, patient, and forbearing. Who else could we trust with the contents of those file cabinets? Who else but someone with absolutely perfect, infinitely unconditional love?”
from Captivated by Grace by Dr. David Jeremiah, p. 76

I’m thankful that God is kind. Kindness can sometimes be a rare commodity in this world.

I’m thankful that God is tolerant. The word used means “self-restraint.” God restrains Himself from punishing me as my actions and thoughts deserve.

I’m thankful that God is patient. In some translations, it reads “longsuffering.” Having looked up the word “tolerant,” I thought I’d also look up “patient” as well. I didn’t expect to find anything interesting, but you never know. I was wrong! I found it quite interesting. Strong’s Greek dictionary defines the word translated as “patient” or “longsuffering” as “longanimity.” OK, I didn’t know what that word meant, either. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary to the rescue again – longanimity means “a disposition to bear injuries patiently.” God is not only patient, He is pre-disposed to bear injuries patiently. That’s quite different from waiting patiently for the light to turn green. He bears injuries patiently. (Hmmm. Makes me consider how I’m doing in that department lately!)

Friends, there is always reason to be thankful, and I am convinced that thankfulness is a key to experiencing the joy that God’s Word promises.

Don’t allow the busyness of the Christmas season to overwhelm you. Each day, be thankful that God is kind, tolerant and patient toward you and your loved ones.

“Thanksgiving is not only an act of gratitude and worship to God, but a way to keep us grounded in the reality of our abundance.”

On this last day of November, a month most closely associated with our American day of Thanksgiving, I read a blog written on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a reflection about the relationship between being aware – or present in the moment – and being thankful. I love the last line of the blog and quoted it above. But what comes before it is worth reading. Check it out!

I have so much to be thankful for – and serving a God who is wildly, passionately in love with me is at the top of the list. My list is long, and I’m hoping yours is, too. I have a roof over my head and am well fed. I’m blessed to be able to write this blog and am involved in a number of other meaningful ministries. I have a wonderful marriage and good family and friends. I have my own business that is moderately successful and gives me a degree of freedom over my schedule. That freedom allows me to be involved in events at my mom’s nursing home and other daytime activities that I might otherwise have to miss. Of course I could get more specific and the list would begin to bore you.

Yet for each of those things, it would be easy for me to add a “but…”

• I have a roof over my head, but that roof needs to be replaced and I can’t afford to do it.
• I am blessed to write this blog, but I don’t have time to do all the many additional things I dream about – truly taking Apprehending Grace Ministries from being simply this blog and a few other things to being a vibrant ministry.
• I have a moderately successful business, but there are so many stresses with owning a small business these days.
• I have a wonderful marriage, but…

You get the idea. For every aspect of our lives, we have a choice – to look at the blessing or to look at the disappointment. The disappointment might be real or imagined, but either way, it mitigates the joy we feel when we think of the blessing. I find that the disappointment we experience falls into two categories:

• “Not yet” disappointment – that is, disappointment in what you haven’t yet seen, received or accomplished.
• Experienced disappointment – reality crashed into your expectations.

Both find their solution in God.

Experienced Disappointment

We will experience disappointments and sorrow in this life. Things will break and people will die. Life will crush in and our hopes will be shattered in Humpty Dumpty fashion. We can hold onto that disappointment, or we can give it to the One who cares for us more than we’ll ever be able to comprehend.

²⁸Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11 (NLT)

I find that dealing with life’s shattering disappointments makes me weary. There’s no better word for it. Weary is more than just tired, it’s overburdened and tired. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines weary as “exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness.” Phil’s family would describe it as “all used up.”

Jesus says “Come to me when you are all used up. Come to me when your strength, endurance, vigor or freshness is gone.” I love that the word “freshness” is included in the definition. When you have become stale and are about to become moldy – “come to me.”

And once you’re there – give him all your disappointments, your worries and your cares.

Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.

Psalm 55:22 (TLB)

Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.

1 Peter 5:7 (TLB)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

If a “but” is taking the joy out of your blessing, you are carrying burdens you need not carry. Go to Jesus – the yoke He has for you fits you perfectly. Once there, give Him all your “buts” – and don’t take them back again. Let Him deal with them for you. (Remember, He is always working in the background to cause all things to work for your good if you continue to pursue Him.) Give God your “buts” today – then just focus on the blessings.

“Net Yet” Disappointment

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.

Psalm 13:12 (NLT)

“Not yet” disappointment is the disappointment in ourselves and/or God, that our dreams have not yet been fulfilled. Scripture validates our feeling of disappointment, but that doesn’t mean we ought to dwell there. It also validates that fulfilled dreams bring life and joy.

Pray into your unfulfilled dreams. Trust God to bring them. “Not yet” disappointment teeters on the brink of lack of faith. Push past the lack of faith into the knowledge that God is on the move! You don’t see it yet, but He is moving to bring about the hopes and dreams that are within His will and those hopes and dreams will be more fulfilling than you imagine.

Live life on purpose! Don’t just hope for your dreams to come true and don’t just pray into your unfulfilled dreams – do whatever there is for you to do today to help your dreams come true tomorrow.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:26 (NIV)

Believe God for your dreams and work toward them. Make your life a “no excuse” zone. When you’ve given your energies toward praying and making your dreams happen, you cannot be disappointed in yourself. When you know that you know that you know that God is working on your behalf, you cannot be disappointed in Him.

For All Disappointment

King David knew a thing or two about disappointment. One of my favorite passages in Psalms was written by him in a period of disappointment. You probably know this Psalm – it begins with the well-known verse “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1, NRSV) Clearly this is a Psalm written in a time of disappointment. Yet David has found the secret to dealing with that disappointment. Read on:

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and ⁶my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

……….

⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:5,-6, 8 (NIV)

In the midst of his weariness, David speaks to his own soul – he instructs it to bring it into alignment with true reality. “Put your hope in God” he says. True reality is not what we see and hear and feel around us. Our emotions lie to us regularly. I woke up this morning wanting to cry for no reason – I was just feeling sad. I could come up with reasons I might be feeling this way and it’s tempting to do that. Life makes more sense to me when I can justify my feelings – but that’s just what it is – justifying them. Why justify them, when instead I can instruct them as David did? “Why are you so downcast, soul of mine? Rejoice in God! He is my Great Redeemer and my life. He lives in heavenly places and never ceases to pray for me. He is my hope and my salvation. He is my friend. He longs to whisper His secrets in my ear.” How much more edifying that is than figuring out why I might be sad. (Don’t hear what I’m not saying – there is a time to work through our emotions, but there is also a time for setting them aside knowing that they are simply lying to us or trying to sabotage us or divert us from God’s purposes.)

Peter has a final instruction that is worth noting here:

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8 (NRSV)

We do have power to redirect our thoughts, and using this power changes our perspective and our attitudes.

Let’s Leave the “But” Out

I have a blessed life. That blessed life is diminished when I let the “buts” of Satan rob me of the joy of the blessing.

Friends, may I encourage you to silence your buts this Thanksgiving and then continue the practice throughout the holiday season and 2011. Make it a lifestyle choice you make today.

Stay tuned – check out tomorrow’s blog titled “But In…”