Circumstantial Blessings are the root of thanksgivings, not Praises.

Last week I got a call from my mother, and instantly I knew it was some bad news. She began to tell me about how the doctors had found a tumor around 2cm’s in diameter in one of her breasts. When I hung up the phone after talking to her I realized something. All of my praises for God are based off of things that are really thanksgivings, my health, my marriage, my wife, my family, my job... These are all circumstantial blessings that are transient situations. These will all end one day, My parents will pass away, I will lose my job, I will lose my wife, I may lose a child, and sooner or later I will lose my life. So how can I root my praises, my joy, my relationship with God on these things.

I am recognizing that thanksgivings and praises are distinguishable from each-other. We don’t sing worship songs about our jobs, our health, or our large checking accounts. So what do we praise God for? I know that when I jump in my car in the morning my prayers usually begin with praising for my wife, my job, my life, my truck (if you can believe it)... But too often all those praises feel empty, they are cold Then I must fight for a joy that I am not capable of finding in the circumstances of my own life. A joy that I can only find in the eternal, non-transient, un-changing, everlasting, qualities of our God, Saviour, Priest, and King.


But please let me be clear with what I am not saying: that in the midst of suffering we must force our selves into joy and happiness by looking past our situations; praising God by sweeping our pain under the rug. We must remember the unchanging qualities of God such as….. However God has providentially placed suffering along paths, so that might grow in faith in who HE is. Like Matt said in his talk last night at the Gathering, that our God wants to remove the crutches that we choice to rely on in place of our unabashed reliance on Him. Our God meets us in our struggles and pains. It is usually in our weakness and pain where Christ unveils His unmatched strength and amazing grace on our behalf. As we choose to believe in the unchanging qualities of Christ, we are able to praise Him and thank Him IN our momentary struggles. Christ is not present with us in order to punish, smite, or condemn, rather he is here to redeem our devastation, sometimes he has to cut us to get something deadly out of our souls. Praise be to God...

thanks to Pamela for her amazing editing skills...