Joy for All You Give, God

LORD,
What You have given,

Is enough for me,

For what You give,

Is good in sight,

Plain enough to see!

Help me be grateful,

For Your plan and my task,

Help me be diligent,

Regarding everything You ask.

AMEN.

Mark this: as I woke up one recent morning, having dressed, I was putting on my shoes, and as I looked around the lounge room I saw symbols of all things God has given me: not just the furniture, but as I looked around to the right, through the bedroom door, was my wife asleep peacefully attending to her dreams. Next to her, on her bedside table, was the monitor: our son sleeping peacefully, even though, on this night, he had kept us both awake for most the night. Still, strangely enough, having my bearings, I was thankful for the alertness I had. In the back room slept my daughter. The previous night my wife had given her a hair treatment. I sat back at that time, whilst my year-old son played peacefully on the floor, knowing God’s peace.

When all is quiet, and we are somewhat surplus to requirements, and allowed to peacefully take in the inner world of our relationships in the context of our thoughts and feelings, God blesses us with a peace that transcends our understanding. We see that coveting things is no longer relevant to the life God gives. For what we think the world gives pales into insignificance in comparison with what God gives.

These are the times when I am most thankful for all things that God has given – the ‘bad’ things as well as the good – because the Lord is able to show me very intentionally exactly who is in control and the intention of those plans.

God’s plans are to bless us in our obedience, and even beyond obedience God gives to us things we perhaps don’t deserve.

Why is it that at the end of our lives we think of the things that are important?

Why do we not instead think of these things now? It’s because we are busy and we are not attentive to the important things, because the more urgent things block our view.

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Why is it that at the end of our lives we think of the things that are important? We miss out on the joy we could have for the thoughts of thankfulness we could have now.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.