Things weren't going my way. Driving alone in the car I desperately began to pray, "God, what are you doing? What am I doing wrong?" It was more of a frustrated plea to God as I questioned His timing and motive.
You're probably thinking Laurie, you talked to God that way? Yes, but God already knew my frustration and the thoughts that were running through my head. By expressing it to Him I was directing my "out of tune" heart back to the Master Musician who could then tune me back to Truth.
Have you ever felt that way? Out of tune with God and frustrated with the circumstances around you? This morning I was reading Psalm 106. In this chapter David records the mighty things God did for His people.
Can you imagine witnessing the miraculous parting of the red sea? How crazy would it have been to be walking between two gigantic walls of water! Then to watch an army of Egyptians disappear as the sea swallowed them up. But the most crazy part of the whole story is mentioned in Psalm 106:13...
"Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!"
To forget is actually a byproduct of ungratefulness. The Israelites soon began to complain and forget all the miracles of God. "They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating ox!" (verse 20)
When we forget the blessings of God we too have traded our glorious God for a man-made idol. A heart of ungratefulness is found in the lives of those who've lost sight of the goodness of God. When was the last time you made a list of answers to prayer and all the blessings God has given to you?
In her book called Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy, Nancy Leigh Demoss writes, “I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can't worship without giving thanks. It just isn't possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.”
"When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."
4 comments:
Thank you Laurie for this reminder to be thankful for everything that comes into our life!!!! So often I forget to thank the Lord for His blessings!!
Bethany
'An attitude of gratitude'... Thankyou Laurie for this timely reminder!
Hm.. Good timing,flicking through old posts,and reading this one.. Just the reminder I needed!!
I was challenged to write 7 things that I'm thankful for each day in November. WOW!!! I can't believe I followed all the way through! I hope to keep writing throughout the next year.
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