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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Gratitude V/S Complaint

I was reading in Ezra 7:27,28 and I asked myself how anyone could bless God. Or was Ezra saying that God was already blessed? My pastor taught that the word blessed means happiness all the way to your inner core. If he wasn't lying to me, I have to think that our God is a happy one.

Look at what God did in this situation. He put in the heart of the king to send people back to Jerusalem for the remodeling of the worship center. God must have been having a good day. He extended mercy to Ezra in the presence of the king, his cabinet, the house of reps and the senate. God must have been having a good day. God strengthened Ezra by putting His hand upon him which empowered Ezra to do the job God had for him to do. God must have been having a good day.

Oh! Wait a minute. Ezra is a captive in Babylon (Iraq), so maybe God isn't having such a good day after all. As a matter of a fact the Hebrews had been there for right at seventy years. God must have had a lot of bad days.

Hmm.  Let's see.

I woke up this morning. God must have been having a good day. When I opened my eyes, I could still see. God must have been having a good day. I was able to dress myself. God must have been having a good day. I heard the voices of my family. God must have been having a good day. My car started and took me all the way to work. I have a job. My wife has been with me for almost fifteen years. I have healthy sons. My parents love me. I have smart, sharp siblings. When you get on a roll like this it's hard to stop. God must be very happy to be treating me this way.

On the other hand, I have a pain in my lower back that I live with. I woke up this morning with a very sore throat. I have a pain in the muscles of my neck that is giving me a throbbing headache right now. Money is tight. the tires on my car are almost bald and I have a huge dent in the side of both vehicles (not my fault). My wife just recently went through back surgery and is numb on one side. God must be having an awful day. What's He got against me? You know, you can get on a roll going this direction as well.  

I realize there are people who have very troubled lives who may be reading this and saying to themselves - he doesn't know the first thing about what I'm going through. And you are absolutely right. The rest of us should use the trials of these people as reminders to be grateful to God. One of the best ways to stay grateful is to find others that suffer more than you (they are everywhere). When I see a wheelchair I thank God I can walk. When I see a blind person I thank God I can see. When I see a deaf person I thank God I can hear.When I hear of a troubled marriage I thank God for my wife. When I see afflicted children I thank God mine are healthy.

I'm sure Ezra had a few things he didn't appreciate about his circumstances, and I'm sure Ezra wasn't a perfect human being; but we could learn a lesson from the way he handled his words that day.

It was nice chatting with you,
John

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