Gratitude and God's goodness

I gave some thought to skipping this week's post. I didn't have much in mind to write, and my motivation to keep writing has diminished. I'd be lying if I knew why the few readers o have even hang with it.

Truth be told, there are many times when I don't feel like sitting down to write, but just not wanting to doesn't seem like good enough a reason not to do it. I don't typically feel like going to work, as I don't really enjoy what I do, because the reason to go (making a living, people depending on me, God tasking me to labor faithfully as anyone else) outweigh the reasons not to do it (not liking what I do).

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I'd like to say I always do this, but I don't. No believer ever always does thing to God's glory. We may be forgiven but we're still sinners. I'm not always happen in my circumstances, and I've been known to have a grumbling attitude when it comes to my job. But, the Lord provided for that need, and has sustained me in difficult moments when it sometimes felt like I was on my own. In those moments, I grumble and complain, but afterwards God stirs my heart to gratitude and thanks.

I hope that I glorify God in what I write tonight. Too often I've written things, especially on the old blog, that were obviously nothing more than complaints. They may have been cathartic to write, but I'm sure they weren't very interesting to read. Certainly, they weren't written with the intent of honoring the Lord.

This doesn't mean I can't choose to do things differently in the future, or even the present. In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul writes of "forgetting what lies behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead" (Phil. 3:13 NASB). A major area in which I struggle is letting go of past mistakes, times in the last where I sinned when I could've avoided them, had I leaned on the Lord to protect and deliver me in those times of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13) Certainly, I can allow these moments to trouble me, and I am convinced Satan wants me to be troubled by them, as they can cause me to doubt the forgiveness God has given me through His Son, Jesus.

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By the way, looking back to the first paragraph of this post, here's a tip for when you're not sure what to say: pray to God that He will give you the right words to say. He knows what you want to say, and will show you how. Just trust in Him.