The scorching hot summer messes up my sleeping pattern nowadays. I nap a lot during day time and have trouble to sleep at night, turning me into a nocturnal creature watching the world rotates. Yet this gives me a reason to tire myself through night jogs so that my body can be quickened to demand a rest. All the jogs often lead me to reflections and thoughts, and I love it.
So yeah just some thoughts I garnered as I was jogging tonight, and my favourite theme is always life and people.
Counting our blessings.
Henry W. Beecher once said, "The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"
Looking at my life right now, I can only be overwhelmed whenever I count God's blessings upon my life, and these include blessings from family, friends and everyone else. Cultivating a heart of gratitude and thankfulness supremely to God draws my heart out to God and keep me engaged with Him. This is because I believe God is the source of everything, creations that are not directly created by Him can only be indirectly created by Him, and thus still, from Him. For example, He gives the creativity and innovation to mankind to explore and create. So ultimately, He is still the source. With that, if all things are from God, including ourselves, this life, then with all reasons, we should be thankful and give thanks to our Creator. Whenever I thank God for something, I am praising His greatness, goodness, faithfulness, gift of salvation ... all contributing to Him being self-glorified.
Lets learn from David in Psalms to give thanks to God for everything. Every furrow in the Book of Psalms is sown with the seeds of thanksgiving. There are so many times the Scripture highlights the urge, importance, need and just simply being thankful to God for everything.
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Philippians 1:3
Paul said, "I thank my God every time I remember you."
Ephesians 5:19-21
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:14-16
...because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 147:7
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
Psalm 106:1
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 69:30
I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
We don't need too big a reason to thank God for. Sin has taught us to be unkind, ungrateful, jealous and greedy. We will never reach full satisfaction on earth for everything in this world is mere passing shadows, they are created to be temporary and to serve us but not to be indulged in. I often wonder how people can actually find everlasting happiness from the world, and sometimes wasting the whole life trying so hard to grab all the lies of Satan. If everything in this world is just temporary and will pass away one day, is it worth for us to lose our life to gain them?
Lets cultivate the posture of thanksgiving in our hearts every single day. We have too many reasons to be thankful for.
If you think your life is in a pit and you don't have much, that too many wants go unanswered, that compared to others you are too little too low, remember those who are battling for a mouthful of food to survive; remember those who are born disabled; remember those never get to know the father's love or mother's love; and if you have an opportunity to study and to gain knowledge, remember those who are not as fortunate as you; remember those who live in constant fear especially those in unstable countries where guerillas and rebels are threatening their lives and in war zones ... be thankful.
Every morning when you wake up, if you still have breath and alive, that you still have a proper brush, toothpaste, facial cream, supply of clean water.. all that for your morning ablution, clean clothes to put on, that you still have croissant left in the fridge or bread with spreads sitting on the table, that you still have a job to work on, that your bank account is still positive, be thankful. Many don't have, some never tasted bread with Nutella spread, while all we think of is Big Breakfast, Eggs Benedict with Salmon, Pancakes ...
Every night before you sleep, if you still have the opportunity to gulp down a cup of warm full cream milk, that you still have a nice bed to sleep on, that your tummy is still full .. be thankful. Many don't have such opportunity. A still usable mattress that we throw away to some, might be a 7 stars hotel they can ever ask for.
In this festive season, lets remember the love Jesus lavished on us, and those who have received the gift of Salvation ought to be even more thankful than the rest. And if we are thankful, we will be compelled to spread this love.
Too much we have, too little we give thanks for. God doesn't need us to be thankful, but He wants us to be thankful, so that He can earn all the glory and be lifted highest among all creations.
"How divinely full of glory and pleasure shall that hour be when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God shall meet together and stand around Him, with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise! How astonishing will be the glory and the joy of that day when all the saints shall join together in one common song of gratitude and love, and of everlasting thankfulness to this Redeemer! With that unknown delight, and inexpressible satisfaction, shall all that are saved from the ruins of sin and hell address the Lamb that was slain, and rejoice in His presence!" ~ Isaac Watts
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