thanks (2)

Gratitude--in Retrospect

I’ve realized two disturbing things about my “Gratitude Quotient” recently: (1) I’m not nearly as grateful as I should be for how God has blessed me; (2) Many of the things I’m now MOST grateful for are past events I wasn’t grateful for at all when they were taking place.

I call this second point “gratitude in retrospect.”

Perhaps you can relate. Have you gone through difficult times when it was extremely difficult to give thanks? But now, as you look back, you see that God was at work through it all. Gratitude (finally!) rises in your heart as you see how the painful events have been beautifully woven into the fabric of your life.

  • Maybe you had a relationship breakup that broke your heart…but it paved the way for God to provide someone much better in your life.
  • Maybe you faced a severe trial in your health…but it caused you to make lifestyle changes in your diet and exercise—and now you’re feeling better than ever.
  • Maybe you lost a job you thought you’d have until retirement…but God opened (or will open) a new door that’s a much better fit for your gifts and passions.
  • Maybe you’ve experienced a financial meltdown, such as foreclosure or bankruptcy…but you learned vital lessons that finally put you on the path of prosperity.

These are just a few examples of how “gratitude in retrospect” can occur. I first noticed this in my life a few years ago, when a friend suggested that I write a book about church splits. “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” was my initial thought. “Even though I’m an expert on church splits, who would ever be interested in a book about that?”

But my tech-savvy friend pointed out that 8,000 people every month do a Google search on the subject of church splits. “Wow. There must be a lot of people dealing with this,” I concluded.

As a result of that conversation, I wrote The Complete Guide to Church Splits: Prevention, Survival, and Recovery (you can download it at www.ChurchSplits.com).

But this event sparked something much bigger than just a new book project: I discovered that God had been a lot more faithful than I had given Him credit for. And I became much more grateful for the difficult things I’ve experienced in life—even though my gratitude was mostly in retrospect.

I’m still troubled by my struggle to be grateful at the same time as my trials are occurring. The Bible instructs us to give thanks “IN everything,” not just AFTER everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

I’m also sad that although I’ve given lip service to Romans 8:28 for decades, God’s amazing promise there is still not rooted as deeply in my life as it should be. Paul had gone through incredible trials (2 Corinthians 11:22-28), yet he said, “We KNOW that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

As the truth of Romans 8:28 becomes more a part of my life, I hope to become more grateful all the time—not just in retrospect. I want to become increasingly aware that God is always working to “connect the dots” in my life, creating a masterpiece I could never have imagined during my times of adversity.

So I pray you will join me in being grateful TODAY—no matter what the day brings…no matter what you may be going through. You may not understand it all today, but the Lord is working out His wonderful plan nevertheless.

 

 

Read more…

I Want to Win the Lottery!

I want to win the Lottery! No I don’t, yes I do, no I don’t, yes…no!, maybe? In my town there are lottery ads on every billboard, sometimes the pot gets up to $350 million dollars! What in the world would someone do with 350 million dollars? We haven’t a clue. But our desire is to win the lottery. It would solve all my problems. I could buy a new car and never worry about it breaking down and not having the money to fix it. I could go to the grocery store and not have to pinch pennies or hand over any coupons. I could go on dream vacation after dream vacation. We would figure out a way to spend it. But do I really want to win the lottery? We’ve all heard story after story of how people who have actually won the lottery have ruined their lives. It has destroyed marriages instead of strengthening them, it has caused family relationships to get worse not better, all that money makes people do things they would never have done. Most of the money is just wasted. Studies have shown that many people who win the lottery end up broke and lonely. But that would never happen to me…right. Winning the lottery probably would destroy my life.But because I still have this desire to win the lottery, I am forced to examine my desires. Each day I have different desires. Here are some that I have had lately:• I want a new car• I want a house on a lake• I want a super vacation to Acadia National Park (our family is going but I really don’t have quite enough money and I’m worried I will come back with a big VISA bill)• I want to accomplish something great and have everybody know about it• I want to go on a trip to the Holy Land• I want a perfectly manicured lawnThe list could go on and I am sure that you have some things you have been thinking about lately as well. But, what I was created to desire does not match up with these earthly desires. I struggle each day to desire the things that God wants me to desire rather than my own personal lusts. I believe we can find out what God wants us to desire from studying the Scriptures. I decided to test this idea this morning. I said, “I’m going to read Ephesians 1 and find out if it says anything about what God desires for me to desire. Here are a few things I found:• God wants me to desire to be faithful to Christ• To desire experiencing peace with God through Jesus• To desire spiritual blessings from heaven (not from earth)• To desire holiness• To desire the riches of his grace (not the riches of the lottery)• To desire an eternal inheritance (not an earthly one)• To desire to love the saints• To desire to give thanks• To desire prayer• To desire a spirit of wisdom• To desire Christ’s power exhibited through my life for his glory (not my own)I can’t wait to continue to pour over the Scriptures and find out more desires that God has for me. The earthly desires of what I want need to be replaced with the heavenly desires that God wants me to have. I was created this way. My desires need to be God-centered not self-centered. I truly believe my life will be rich and full and satisfying if I desire what God has in store for me rather than what the lottery can buy at the store for me.All for Jesus,Fletch
Read more…