Last night when I went to bed, I was having a lot of pain in my jaw but I was too tired to get up and take a Tylenol. And I was crunched in between my husband who was taking up most of the bed and my cat who was practically sleeping on my face on my pillow but I was too tired to wake him up or shew the cat off so I just endured. I was a bit cranky last night too.
But this morning when I woke up, I was curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed all to myself and the first thought that came to my mind was how thankful I was. My husband came over and gave me a kiss and told me how cute I was. He had already made breakfast and had the coffee ready and was getting ready to head out to do errands. I put on my robe and grabbed a cup of coffee, looking out the window to see my cat outside playing in the yard, happy as could be. I sat by the Christmas tree drinking my coffee and all of a sudden I just felt incredibly thankful. A spirt of thankfulness came over me this morning and I became so aware of all God had done in my life. Sometimes it just hits me... all that God has done!
There's a saying that Dave Ramsey has when he is asked how he is doing. He always says "better than I deserve." That is how I feel too. God has blessed me more than I deserve, that is for sure! His blessings have come to me in many ways and go beyond what I ever imagined. How dare I ever complain about anything! How dare I grumble to myself about jaw pain or not having room to spread out in my bed!
I know for a fact that my biggest blessing in life is to know God and to experience His presence, to have Him walk with me through many ups and downs of life and to share in His love. There is no greater blessing and anyone on earth can have this if they ask Him and seek Him. This is the root of all peace and joy and it is from this place that I can ever begin to enjoy any other type of blessing.
For those who may not know, my life was not always so easy! You will have to read previous posts to know what I have actually lived through and the places where I have walked with God and survived. I have lived through many years of wilderness but even in the wilderness God was my blessing.
When we are facing trials, the Bible reminds us to "Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!" - Joshua 1:9 And throughout this old testament story of God's people leaving slavery/bondage and entering into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, the Lord reminded them that He was their life, their hope. That though they may be humbled or even tested in the wilderness, He would go before them "fighting on their behalf" and even "carrying them as a man carries his son" - Deut 1:30, 31. But He also told them that when they entered the Promised Land to never forget all that He has done for them, that they were to "remember all the ways all the ways the Lord has led them through the wilderness these forty years."
In fact, the Lord says this in Deut 8:11-18 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, my power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."
Though this situation in the old testament is different from what we have today, certain principles still apply and those are that God walks with us through the wilderness, but always for a purpose and that being to deliver us from bondage and to take us into a promised land. But during the wilderness He tells us, when I do take you into the promised land of blessing, don't forget ME, don't forget all I have done in your life, don't forget to be thankful, don't become proud or think you have blessing of your own accord for all blessing come from ME and don't forget... I am your biggest blessing of all!
