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thanking God for all things

June 21, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

God, I thank you for our food and for our many blessings like my car whose air conditioner died right before the summer, my annoying coworker who constantly keeps giving me “projects” that she is supposed to do, the bugs that keep eating my tomato plants, my food allergies and hip that keeps hurting, that family member that constantly holds grudges, my friend who only “listens” for her turn to start talking about herself again…

Sounds strange, doesn’t it?  Do I count these things as blessings?  Trials, tribulations, minor annoyances maybe, but blessings?

“So much of our praise to the Lord is limited to the moments when we have determined that what he has done is good: the times of physical healing, financial provision, improved circumstances, restored relationships, or solved problems.  In these situations, we praise God for his faithfulness.  But what does all of this communication miss? The fact is that God is active in every moment of our lives, and that he brings all things into our lives for our redemptive good.”-Paul David Tripp

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thes. 5:18

This is really a challenging teaching if you apply it to all kinds of things that can happen in a day.  But what a change in perspective when we do this!  Instead of immediately grumbling, I have the choice to step out of the moment and see that God is using this “bad” thing to show me what is in my heart and to change me.  When I remember, as Romans 8 says, that He is working in all things to conform me to the image of Jesus Christ, it puts trials in perspective.  Then I can truly thank him for doing his work in my life.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

How about you? Look past the sunshine and simple daily provisions and see God’s hand at work in every situation.  What are some things that you can thank God for today?

[copyright, 2010, Emily Riley; A Sacrifice of Praise]

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Making Idols Out Of Gifts

April 20, 2010
Filed In Daily Devotionals

And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).
2 Kings 18:4

What gifts of life have you turned into idols of death? That’s what the Israelites had done with the bronze serpent. Do you remember the story of the serpent? In Numbers 21:4-9 the people of Israel are once more complaining about their circumstances. God sends deadly serpents against the people but has Moses erect a bronze serpent. Any Israelites who were bitten could look on the bronze serpent and be saved.

Evidently, the bronze serpent continues to exist throughout Israel’s history, on down to the days of king Hezekiah. By Hezekiah’s day, the bronze serpent has itself become an object of worship. It becomes a totem, an idol, an object of worship, so Hezekiah destroys it to end that particular brand of idolatry.

We are not immune to the sin of the Israelites. God blesses us in many ways and with many things and we turn those things into objects of our chief devotion. They become idols. It may be money, it may be a husband or wife, it may be a new television, it may even be a church, ministry, or church program. We are particularly bad about making idols from that last category. We worship our church building or our musical style, whether traditional or modern; we worship our preacher or other ministry staff; we worship our particular way of doing Sunday school. Somewhere along the way, we take gifts God has given us for good and we worship the gift.

The remedy may or may not be as drastic as Hezekiah’s approach. There may well be things in our lives that need to be destroyed. God would have our undivided devotion. If some vice or possession demands attention from him, it needs to be cast out. But if the idol is a spouse or a church, we need to work within those relationships to reorganize our priorities.

In all things, put God first. Worship and adore him. Celebrate him. Follow and obey him. Let the world see by your obedience that the One you serve is more precious than anything else life has to offer.

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Gospel Thankfulness

November 23, 2009
Filed In Daily Devotionals

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. (Psalm 130:3)

What should inform the thankfulness of a Christian? What should be its motive? The common remedy against grumbling for many is the “it could be worse” attitude. The mother says to her ungrateful eater, there are starving children who don’t get to eat. The unhappy employee sees the rising unemployment rates and complains a little less. Reader’s Digest recently gave 10 Reasons to be Thankful, which included larger homes compared to forty years ago, rising literacy among young people, and hundreds of television channels to watch anything we want, anytime we want.

As Christians, we should be thankful for God’s common grace. Our Lord cares for us and provides for our needs and we should increase in our thankfulness for his provision. John Calvin wrote that “thankfulness is the soil to which pride does not easily grow.” For Christians, there is a more fundamental level to our thankfulness: We no longer stand in God’s judgment. Our sins are forgiven. Someone else bore the wrath for our unrighteousness. The forgiveness of sins should make our hearts swell in thankfulness more than the two cars we have in our garage.

In fact, if our thankfulness is only informed by our material increase, then it is difficult to be thankful in times of great suffering. Yet, if our thankfulness is informed by the Gospel, then we can endure much poverty or affliction, awaiting our blessed hope.

Also, if the Gospel does not inform our thankfulness, it is difficult to forgive others when they sin against us. However, if our hearts are adorned with thankfulness for God’s saving work on our behalf, we will be quick to forgive. It is only with a Gospel-thankful heart that we can obey Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

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John Starke is on staff at the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in Louisville, KY.  He and his wife Jena have three children.  He also blogs at John Ploughman.

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