Keepers of The Home
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Posted: January 9, 2021
Author: Danielle Murphy 1 Thessalonians 5:15-16, KJV “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” |
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Every single day we have a choice. We can choose to be grateful or complain about our circumstances. Usually we choose a little bit of both, but sometimes our whole day ends up being marked by murmuring and complaining. This is a miserable place to find yourself. No one ever really wants to be miserable, and yet we can find ourselves fighting the desire to do so. How can we get ourselves out of a pity party? The cure to an ungrateful heart is always gratitude.
Our days on earth are very limited. There is no better waste of time for us while we are here than to walk around being grumpy. Do we not know that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)?
The people of Israel had this issue while they were in the wilderness and it greatly displeased the Lord. When I put myself in their shoes, however, I can see how eating the same food day in and out for forty years would get tiring. But didn’t they also realize they did not have to toil every day in order to receive their food? All they had to do was go and collect it each day, and yet even that seemed like such a burden to them. So much so, that they actually longed to trade in their monotonous diet for slavery where they were able to more freely satisfy their stomachs with a variety of foods.
It just goes to show you that the real issue of being grateful doesn’t come by what we have or don’t have, but rather is really a matter of perspective and the heart.
Think about it, your children may nag you and drive you crazy each day, while another women who is barren, would give anything to live those same days you find yourself complaining about. She may find herself battling boredom and feels a real lack in finding a sense of purpose. Both are being robbed of the time they have been given by God. It pleases the Lord when we learn to be content in our circumstances.
Think of your own children when they have many things at their fingertips to do and yet complain about the one thing that is off limits to them for one reason or another. You can see very clearly how they could be using their time more usefully, while they are in stuck in a rut of ungratefulness.
Let us not be people marked with ungrateful hearts, but let us remind ourselves that God can use every season we find ourselves in for His glory and for our good!
Our days on earth are very limited. There is no better waste of time for us while we are here than to walk around being grumpy. Do we not know that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)?
The people of Israel had this issue while they were in the wilderness and it greatly displeased the Lord. When I put myself in their shoes, however, I can see how eating the same food day in and out for forty years would get tiring. But didn’t they also realize they did not have to toil every day in order to receive their food? All they had to do was go and collect it each day, and yet even that seemed like such a burden to them. So much so, that they actually longed to trade in their monotonous diet for slavery where they were able to more freely satisfy their stomachs with a variety of foods.
It just goes to show you that the real issue of being grateful doesn’t come by what we have or don’t have, but rather is really a matter of perspective and the heart.
Think about it, your children may nag you and drive you crazy each day, while another women who is barren, would give anything to live those same days you find yourself complaining about. She may find herself battling boredom and feels a real lack in finding a sense of purpose. Both are being robbed of the time they have been given by God. It pleases the Lord when we learn to be content in our circumstances.
Think of your own children when they have many things at their fingertips to do and yet complain about the one thing that is off limits to them for one reason or another. You can see very clearly how they could be using their time more usefully, while they are in stuck in a rut of ungratefulness.
Let us not be people marked with ungrateful hearts, but let us remind ourselves that God can use every season we find ourselves in for His glory and for our good!
