Count Your (Spiritual) Blessings

Well, it's that time of year again. In just a couple of weeks, our social media feeds are going to blow up with people naming blessings—one for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. On one hand, I always enjoy these posts. I love seeing the people of God giving thanks for his good gifts. I also enjoy participating in the #Grateful movement. And yet, at the same time, I wonder if maybe we're missing the forest for the trees. 

I'm thankful for financial stability, food on the table, a loving husband, and my two sweet girls. I'll be the first to admit that I'm grateful for mocha lattes, crisp fall mornings, a few hours of quiet, and the roof over my head. When I count my blessings, these are some of the first things I name.

But I'm afraid that when we count our blessings, we sometimes stop too soon. We only name the things that are right in front of our faces, and we neglect to mention the things that matter most.

When we went through the Limitless study on Ephesians this summer, one of the first things that I noticed was the type of blessings that Paul named. I'm sure he was thankful for his friends and family, the people who supported his ministry, and for his good health. But those aren't the things that he names.

He names the spiritual blessings that each and every believer has in Christ. In his list, Paul says we have been blessed because we are chosen, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven. Through Christ, he goes on to say, we have received limitless grace, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and an inheritance that is incorruptible, unfading, and imperishable.

Here's the thing. Each and every one of the physical things that we're thankful for can be stripped away. You can lose your job. You can lose your livelihood. Your savings accounts can be emptied. You can find yourself not knowing where your next meal is coming from. You can be in a horrible car accident. You can get cancer. You can lose someone you love. 

It's good and right to be thankful for all kinds of blessings, but if the foundation of our thanksgiving lies only in earthly blessings, then our faith will be shaken by the first strong wind that blows our way. The incorruptible, unfading, and imperishable gifts of God ought to be at the center of our thanksgiving. These are the blessings that are the same now and in the future regardless of circumstances.

If we lose our jobs, we still have Christ. We still have salvation through him. We still have the peace that comes from him. We still have redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. We still have grace in limitless abundance. And these are the things that Paul says we should cling to and hold onto because these are the things that never change. These are the things that never go away. These are the things that are true regardless of what's happening in the world around us.

God is good all the time. His goodness isn't dependent on the circumstances that surround us. Even when the future seems bleak, we maintain hope for something better. And the hope we have in Christ is guaranteed. We can depend on it because the God who has promised is faithful. He is who he says he is and he is able to do what he says he will do. When he says that he has blessed us, it means that we are blessed because we are his.

So this season, will you join me in changing things up? When we count our blessings, let's start with the spiritual ones. Let's count them out for all the world to see. Let's name them one by one and see what God has done. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Now and forever. Amen.

Until next time, grace and peace.

For the Times You Don't Feel Like Going to Church

Can I be honest with you for a few minutes? A few Sundays ago, I didn't want to go to church. We had a full weekend with out-of-town company and a bout with a stomach bug. I stayed home on Sunday morning with the sick one and planned to trade off with Dennis for the evening service. 

But when 5 o'clock rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was get ready to go. I told myself I didn't have enough time to shower. I dragged around the house. I plopped down in my chair with a book and a big cup of Coke Zero. But finally, I got still enough to listen to the tiny little voice in my head telling me to get off my tail and go.

The truth is that we won't always feel like going to church. We'll make excuses. We'll drag our feet. We'll pretend that we're too busy. But practicing faithfulness has to be something that we do, regardless of how we're feeling in the moment, because we all know that feelings are fickle. They can turn on a dime, and they can't always be trusted.

God, on the other hand, is the opposite of fickle. He's faithful. And I show my gratitude for his faithfulness by trying to mirror it in my own life. Sometimes that means ignoring how I feel and doing what I ought simply because it's right.

When I got to church that night, we sang one of my favorite hymns, and I was reminded anew why we Christians do what we do. We go to church week in and week out because we desperately need a touch from God. We give, we serve, and we love all because of what Christ has done for us. For no other reason. Because he has given me life, I'll serve him with mine. 

I'm including the lyrics to that old chorus in this post because I think sometimes we all need to be reminded of why Jesus did what he did. When we forget that, we lose sight of everything that really matters. I hope these words encourage you as much as they do me. May we never stop longing for the touch of our Savior.

Until next time, grace and peace.

I Will Serve Thee

I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing before you found me.
You have given life to me.

Heartaches,
Broken pieces,
Ruined lives
Are why you died on Calv'ry.
Your touch is what I longed for;
You have given life to me.

—William & Gloria Gaither, 1969

Practicing Faithfulness in the Space Between

Note: This is the third and final post in a series on seasons of waiting. In the past couple of weeks, we've talked about trusting God when hopes are deferred and Betsy Childs Howard's book Seasons of Waiting. Today's post is about practicing faithfulness in the space between.

When I was in college and felt the burning of God's call on my heart, I envisioned myself doing great things for the kingdom. Living with boldness and fire. Going and giving and serving and teaching and basically being a rockstar for Jesus.

But then real life stepped in. I married an engineer, and if you know any engineers, then you know that they are at their very hearts logical and practical planners. It's what makes them good engineers. It's part of what I love about Dennis. But the very pragmatism that is so much a part of him also means that the life I had envisioned for myself is different from the reality that God had planned for me.

In all honesty, I never imagined living in a small Southern town and serving as a room mom for my children's teachers or as a substitute Sunday school teacher for the senior ladies at church. This life isn't nearly as bold and fire-filled as I had planned, and yet I now know that this is exactly the life that God had planned for me all along.

I spent a lot of years frustrated at just how slowly things were going for my ministry. Even though I knew and believed that children are a blessing, I cried when I found out I was pregnant with our youngest daughter because I thought it meant that it would be at least five more years before I could do something big for God.

As if shaping the hearts and lives of tiny humans is nothing at all.

I know what it means to wait for a dream to be fulfilled. I'm intimately acquainted with the bitterness that wells up when you see someone else living the life that you long for. But the longer I waited, the more I started to wonder if maybe I had gotten things mixed up. Maybe God had placed more than one calling on my life. Now I know that my mistake was in believing that the calling of motherhood was any less important than the calling to teach the Word.

I don't know what sort of waiting season you're stuck in, but I don't doubt that you're waiting for something. You could be waiting for a spouse or longing for a child or wishing for more purpose in your life. I don't know how everything will work out in the end. But I do know this: your waiting season is not pointless. Know that God can, and does, use the unlikeliest of situations to accomplish his good plan.

I've been reminded of this truth several times lately. The story of David and Goliath has been popping up with some frequency, and I, of course, took it to mean that God was trying to tell me something. I can be a bit hardheaded at times, so he brought it up again, and again, and yet again, until I got the message. 

We first meet David in 1 Samuel 16—just one chapter before he slays Goliath. And he's an ordinary boy. A shepherd and musician. The unlikeliest of candidates to become Israel's next king. And yet, in God's eyes, he was exactly the right one for the job. There's just one tiny problem. Israel already has a king. The current king, Saul, has displeased God, and because of that, he will be displaced from his throne. Eventually. But not yet. David has no choice but to wait.

So here's the thing that God keeps pressing on me: While David waited, he kept on doing the work that God had given him to do for that day. He had been chosen as king, but knowing it wasn't yet his time, he continued to be faithful to the tasks in front of him. And the crazy thing is that if he had not kept on doing his work as a shepherd, he wouldn't have been prepared to defeat the giant.

Sounds crazy, right? You really should read the entirety of 1 Samuel 16-17 when you get a chance, but for now, know that while David's older brothers were off doing noble things for Israel, David was back home tending sheep. His father sends him to carry food and supplies to his brothers on the warfront, and when he gets there, he's shocked to find the army of Israel quaking in their boots at the taunts and threats from the Philistine champion, Goliath.

David, handsome teenage shepherd boy that he is, immediately volunteers to fight the giant. When everyone, including Saul, points out exactly crazy that is, David won't listen. Instead, he argues his case. Listen to what he says:

Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God . . . The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.   1 Samuel 17:34-37

First of all, if you've gone head-to-head with a lion and bear and come out on top, I want you on my team. Just saying. But seriously, let's talk for a minute about this, because it's important. David was a shepherd. It was a lowly job. There wasn't much praise and glory to be had there. And yet it was a job that he did faithfully and consistently. 

What would you have done if you were out tending your sheep and a lion wanted one for dinner? Personally, I would have let the lion have as many sheep as it wanted, as long as it left me alone. But David didn't do that. He stood up for those he was charged with protecting. He fought off the fiercest of opponents. And it was that readiness to step in and do what needed to be done—even at great personal risk—that enabled David to stand before Goliath with confidence.

Do you see what's happening here? God was preparing David all along. David couldn't have known that there was a giant in his future. He didn't know what God had in store for him. But the Lord did. He put a task (raising and defending sheep) before David that would prepare him for the work ahead, and it was David's faithful commitment to that task that gave him the skills necessary to strike down Goliath.

Not only that, but David also knew whose he was. He knew that he was the Lord's anointed. He knew that through his training as a shepherd, God had given him all he needed to defeat Goliath. He wasn't being arrogant or cocky when he insisted that he could do it. He was resting confidently in the knowledge that God had called and equipped him for the challenge ahead.

How does all this relate to you and me? Well, I personally find great comfort in the knowledge that God honors faithfulness in his people. David wasn't perfect. He made mistakes in his life. Big ones. But he also made it a habit to be about the business of God, even if that meant tending sheep for a while.

Is it possible that God is using your current circumstances as a training field for something he has planned in the future? Maybe you have big dreams but you're stuck in a place you never wanted to be. If so, you have two choices: you can give in to the bitterness and disappointment that threatens to overwhelm, or you can honor God and practice faithfulness in the space between. I hope you choose the latter.

Until next time, grace and peace.