give thanks, day 24

(below is another post from a friend...thank you)

I am thankful for how wonderful life is...in the light of how it could have been. That may sound like a not-so-thankful posture from which to praise God for His goodness and faithfulness in my life, but think about it. Don't we tend to rejoice or grieve based on where the acceptable bar is set...that place on which our eyes are fixed?

If I am having a health problem, and I am surrounded by those with more severe problems, I tend to be thankful I am not worse. If, on the other hand, I'm surrounded by athletes and hard bodies...I may tend to grieve my condition.

So...as I write this short confession on my pattern of thinking, I am convicted. How unlike Jesus is it to view my station in life in proportion to the perceived condition of those within my scope of attention!

My mind goes to the jail cell from which the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians. This is great...imagine yourself in a foreign jail cell...this may take a while so don't rush..........are you in the jail cell yet? Away from those you love...and writing a letter. Give yourself time to settle in on whatever is your condition. Bad food? musty smell? dirty? unsavory company? angry guards? and your innocent! it's not fair.

Read a short part of Paul's jail cell letter...your alone...read it out loud, right where you sit.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now...Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance...For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain..."

I read it again and again...slowly, praying that God will move in me, generating such a genuine joy ...overflowing...erupting out of my heart in such a way that points my world to Him. It doesn't happen as I focus on others. Rather, may this be a day that I focus on God's crazy love for me and determine my response will be a reflection of His love to others.

What if God chooses to show Himself through me so clearly that others are drawn to Him...in their pain and struggle. And the process of being drawn to Him transforms their experience of pain and struggle into an "I-have-learned-to-be-content-in-whatever-condition-I-live" reality.

I am thankful today for His presence in my life, and His promise that if I draw near to Him...He'll draw near to me. That's enough to turn a day around.

Thanksgiving...maybe it's about my relationship with God more than what I have...where I am...and what I'm doing. Thanksgiving and Contentment...maybe they're twins.

Work-in-process