It's very easy to complain. It's easy to imagine that our sufferings, our struggles, are unlike any that others have experienced.
It's harder to see, especially in the tough times, that God's blessings are still around, that God remains faithful.
Look now to see what blessings God has in store for you today, especially if you are finding that hard to do.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
Philippians 3:7-9
We are thankful for the blessings that God has showered upon us, but we are not supposed to mistake those blessings for some kind of evaluation of our worth or value. We are valuable because we are children of God and we are loved. The “rubbish” Paul is casting aside here is any status he may have been accorded by society because of his birthright and even his honorable behavior. He wants to clear away his ego in order to make room for salvation. He wants to clear out pride to make room for faith.
Our motivations matter to God. The next time you do the right thing, consider your driving force – is it pure love for God, or is it to preserve an image of yourself as a good person? Can you let go of your status in exchange for your true nature as someone who is eternally saved?
Denise Nickerson-Caudéran
Lord, you have blessed me with an eternal spirit through salvation. Cleanse me of attachment to my position and ambitions on earth. Open my heart to receive your most precious blessing so that I may live through your righteousness. Amen.
God's blessings are raining down.
Walk with your face lifted up;
Lift your hands also to receive
The gift of God's presence,
The embrace of the One who is near.