All the while, we are still waiting for Jesus to return. Waiting for God to move. Waiting for revival. Waiting for justice to roll down like water. A LOT of WAITING! I’m sure you can relate to at least one of these. We are all ‘waiting for change’ in some way. But this blog isn’t about all that, actually. It is about ‘changing how we wait.’ It isn’t about bringing a change to your circumstances, but it might bring a change to how you feel and how you take things day by day. Many things can ‘change how we wait,’ but we are going to focus on only one of them: gratefulness.
However, I think these verses and the idea that we are to be grateful are probably not new. We know we should be grateful, but it can be so hard sometimes! For example, what about all that waiting? We are still waiting for a lot of stuff! How can we be grateful for what we have while we wait? One helpful aspect is to realize how important it is to seek to be grateful for what we already have. I am reminded of the quote by Frank A. Clark – “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” In other words, if we aren’t grateful now, why do we think we will be later? Sure, there are degrees of fulfillment that will change, but he makes a valid point. When the grass is always greener on the other side, when do we stop moving? When do we stop striving? When do we rest and have peace?
There are lots of ways to address these questions. When I was praying about it in my own life recently. I felt like God said it comes down to trust. In other words, these fears and strivings can be a manifestation of fear. Fear of missing out. Fear of wasting a life. Fear of failure. Fear of being stuck in place. Fear of pain or loss. Fear of not being enough. Fear rooted in not trusting God has it under control. Not believing that God is working things together for good. Of failing to believe that because I don’t understand why, there can still be a good reason. God just isn’t sharing it with us. This is hard because we want to know why so badly! We want to be in the know! We want to know when the storm ends, when the dawn light will break. Those are the times when trust and gratefulness are the hardest.
write down what we are thankful for. Writing down something simple, even if just the breath in our lungs, the breath of life. Or it can be helpful to recall how God has showed up before for us and others. Also, we can adopt the perspective that ‘Today is just today.’ Tomorrow need not be the same. It might be different. The rest of our life will not be just like today and that is a fact. Amid it all, remember God is with you, and you are not alone. God’s presence is always something to be grateful for too.
Living gratefully is a focus of BFJN’s ministry and hopefully this blog encouraged you to take a small step toward gratefulness today. We are all waiting for something. But we have also received so much already. May God be with you and help you celebrate what you have received and who is always with you.
Your writing has a way of resonating with me on a deep level. I appreciate the honesty and authenticity you bring to every post. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.