February 27
We take so much for granted. Walk into a hospital room and see someone who cannot breathe without an oxygen tank or who is being fed through tubes and we come away feeling thankful for something as basic as the ability to inhale clean air or to eat good food. Who offers thanks for these things that we cannot live without? Few of us ever do.
We rarely lift our voice in praise and thanksgiving for the continual blessings the Lord lavishes upon us. The air we breathe, the foods we enjoy are simply ‘there.’ How infrequently we contemplate the delicate balance of our planet that enables it to sustain life at a temperature that is conducive to our comfort and to maintain weather cycles that promote the cultivation of foods for consumption for man and beast.
But these simple blessings are addressed in both Old and New Testaments. In Joel 2:23 the prophet says, “Be glad, O people of Zion; rejoice in the Lord your God for He has given you the Autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both Autumn and Spring rains.” Rejoice and be glad—not that you have lavish abundance or enjoy great power, but that abundant showers come in their season!
Luke, the companion of Paul, writes in Acts 14:17, “God has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” We may not reflect much upon the joy of simply breathing fresh air or consuming wholesome food, but were we to be without them, the blessing they are would suddenly become quite apparent! Let us not take God or His gifts for granted.
No one likes to be 'taken for granted.' We balk if our spouse or our employer or our children or our friends seem indifferent to our efforts and energy expended in their behalf.
ReplyDeleteWhy then, do we neglect to acknowledge to the Holy One our appreciation for all He does for us? Should we not lift up our voices in praise to the God who has lavished us with good gifts?
Everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat to the money we spend to the friendships we enjoy to the life we live flow from His bountiful provision. And when this life is over, we shall then experience the "unspeakable Gift" that has been our hope through time and faith's reward for eternity.