Tag: blessings

Measuring What is Good from an Eternal Perspective

2 Corinthians 4:17
For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

As Christians, we all love the promise of Romans 8:28. We all take great comfort from the idea that all things in our lives are going to work together for good. We are certain to be very disappointed, however, if we narrowly define “good” in a temporal sense and not in a spiritual sense. Our frustration will be even greater if we fail to measure the “good” in our lives from an eternal perspective.

There is simply no question that God orders or allows everything in our lives. To think that one iota of our lives can pass by without Almighty God being in control is heresy. God created us and wants to use us for His eternal purposes. He will control every component of the people, places and things in our lives in order to see that we are successful in fulfilling His eternal calling on our lives. He will measure the good that He provides for us only from an eternal perspective. If temporal goods help us meet our calling, they will be poured upon us. If temporal goods become a stumbling block for us, they will be replaced by trials and affliction. If our trials and affliction work for our eternal good, then God will consider them as a good things and He will allow them to be poured out upon us so that He may produce a glory in us that vastly outweighs the burden of our trials.

Just as the Father called His Son into service, so does He call us. The good that God works in our lives will be reflected in the things that He brings to us in order to take us from darkness to light, from bondage into liberty and from the company of sinful men into fellowship with Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Let us recognize that Almighty God is in control of every single element in our lives. Let us find the good that He has in store for us whether it comes from earthly provision or earthly burden. Let us rejoice in the meticulous plans that He has for our eternal good.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for setting aside roles for us in Your eternal plans. We rejoice in knowing that You will work out every single element of our lives in order that we may fulfill the purposes that You have created us to meet. We pray, Lord, for the grace to be able to live with our focus on our eternal good and the eternal good of those around us. May the Holy Spirit help us and strengthen us when we weaken because we cannot see the good that You are putting into place for us. We praise Your Name because we know that Your way and Your work are perfect. We ask all these things in the name of God incarnate, Jesus Christ.

The Joy and Blessings of Giving Thanks

Nehemiah 8:10
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”

Each year since the Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving celebration feast in the early 1600’s, a day has been set aside in this country to take the time to come together to give thanks for all that we have been blessed with as a nation and as individuals. For followers of Jesus, it has been easy to give thanks and sincerely praise the Lord. As His disciples, we truly have been blessed. But more importantly, we have recognized/learned where our real blessings come from. We have continued to recognize our blessings and the source of our blessings as we went through pain, trouble, conflict and trials during different junctures in our lives. We may not have always been particularly happy about our circumstances, but we learned along the way that we could always find our joy and our strength in Jesus Christ.

On a national basis, the story is much different. As our nation has become more and more secular, a large portion of the population has spent their lives seeking happiness without any understanding of the true joy of living for Christ. Non-believers have bought into the idea that they can control their own happiness. It can be devastating to them when they realize that happiness is not something that they can create. It can be crushing to them when they realize that their circumstances are not something that they have control over. They have no place to turn when they hit their inevitable periods of pain, trouble, conflict and trials.

Let us take our thanks beyond the Thanksgiving table. Let us take time each day to give thanks for the source of our joy, Jesus Christ. Let us delight in Him. Let us praise Him for what He has done for us, how He is still working in us and what He promises us for all eternity. Let us show the world the powerful joy that is the source of our strength. Let us show the world how His joy transforms us and motivates us to serve Him. Let our joyful lives become a most appealing witness for a lost and hurting world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many blessings that You have poured onto our lives through Your grace, Your mercy and Your lovingkindness. We thank You for the trials that You have allowed in our lives which have deepened our trust in You. We bless the name of Jesus who provided the way for our eternal blessings. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to take the joy that we have in Christ to share with those around us so that Your joy and gladness can be theirs for today and forever. We ask all these things in the name of the Joy of the World, Jesus Christ.