As soon as I got in my car, I popped my Nichole Nordeman CD into the CD player in hopes of the music refreshing me and clearing my mind for the day at work. It didn't work. Then, an old familiar phrase came to mind. One of my oldest friends had a saying she used to tell all of us in high school when we were having a bad day: "Bad days are an excuse for not seeing all of the blessings God has for you." That kept playing in my head over and over as I drove, and the Lord convicted me of the truth behind such a statement. The more I thought of it, the more I also began thinking that my bad days are an excuse for not being thankful. What do I have that the Lord has not given?
This is not truth I was convicted of in my own conjuring up of profound thoughts. The Lord convicted me of my ungrateful heart as I was merging onto the expressway. Rather than waking up thankful and saying "good morning" to my undeserved and precious gift of a husband, I complained with my back to him. Rather than hug him and tell him how much I loved him first thing in the morning, I sighed. The Lord has provided above and beyond all we could ask or imagine, and all I want to do is react out of my self-centered, rebellious tendencies to complain! After years of growth, and seeing with new eyes my more common patterns of sin, I know that the root of complaining is a lack of thanks - thanks for the atoning sacrifice of Christ which is the only thing that saves, the gift of life and breath, the gift of a husband who desires my best which is satisfaction and joy in Christ alone, the opportunity to receive an education from an excellent seminary, and the gift of a stable, reliable place of employment to even drive to every morning.
What may merely seem like "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" to your average adult really is an excuse. Even the smallest and most common aspects of our attitude can distract us from a day that in and of itself is a gift.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing that with us. I needed that so much! I often have days like that where I wish I didn't have to answer the door so early in the morning to start watching kids but the Lord provided those kids as a form of income for us and provides so many needs and wants for us. Thanks for reminding me to count my blessings and not get up on the wrong side of the bed!
Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! I was a cranky pants from the moment I opened my eyes. It's funny how you remembered something I said so long ago... but why, in the midst of my self-centered stuper, could I not remember it? Well, thank you for reminding me that it is just an excuse... I am so richly blessed, so who am I to feel slighted because I have to take the best puppy in the world outside? I guess this is something that we can all relate to. No matter how many blessings are poured out unto us... or how many times we think "i wouldn't ever complain if I had ____," but whether or not we get _____ we still find ourselves complaining. It's just one more thing that brings us back to our knees though. Isn't it so refreshing to know that though we often feel in bad moods, or that we've been slighted in some way, that we have the ultimate victory. What about those who wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and all their hope is placed in the things of this world that fall apart around them. How blessed we are to know that the things of this world, that don't seem to work to our favor, are nothing more than "things" or "feelings." Our hope is placed in the eternal unchanging God of the Universe!!
I guess because of this post last night... and thinking about this concept, when I was walking Phoebe this morning I had this in my head:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
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