The blessings of house are maybe the obvious blessings—these of household, meals, shelter, well being, work, and the Physique of Christ. Nonetheless, they’re additionally those we most frequently overlook to offer thanks for. Let’s make an effort to remember these gifts even within the sensible and mundane routines of day by day life. They’re great blessings from our Father!
Blessing One: Household
The Closest Ones
Dad and mom, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews—our households are our best blessings. They’re a present from God to us. They’re those with whom we share particular recollections and inside jokes. They snort with us and cry with us.
It’s straightforward to take our members of the family with no consideration when life goes easily. We name them once we keep in mind to. We go to them when it’s handy for us. But in instances of tragedy—an sickness, a dying, a severe accident, a job loss—we’re reminded of the blessing of household, of the consolation and knowledge they create us.
Take each alternative to cherish your family members at the moment. Don’t look ahead to tomorrow. When you’re upset with a member of the family, forgive them. When you’ve uncared for them, give them a name. When you’ve rebelled in opposition to your dad and mom, go house with the standard angle of a repentant prodigal. When you’ve been terse along with your youngsters, give them an additional hug. When you stay far-off, work tougher to remain in contact. Make each effort to deal with your loved ones in addition to you’ll be able to.
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Our households are treasured blessings that ought to be lavished with prayer. Pray for his or her salvation, for his or her religious progress, and for his or her bodily well being. Pray as Paul prayed for the church in Colossae, “That [they] could also be full of the information of His will in all knowledge and religious understanding; that [they] could stroll worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:9-10).
God created and designed the household. It’s a part of His plan for us. Spend a couple of moments praying for your loved ones and for individuals who are like household to you. Thank God for the present every of them is to you. Then take a while to name, textual content, or write notes of thanksgiving to people who are particularly in your thoughts.
Blessing Two: Residence
Grateful Above, Under, and Round
Nicely-known for constructing homes world wide, Habitat for Humanity works to put folks in reasonably priced and secure properties. The home Habitat for Humanity offered for one lady, Brenda, permits her to “maneuver her wheelchair into each room of her new house—one thing that wasn’t doable in her prior house.” The house features a roll-in bathe and lowered cupboards to assist her navigate safely and simply. Brenda stated, “I’ve by no means been in a position to stay in a house that was accessible. I simply needed to make do with what was out there that I might afford.”1
What a blessing Brenda’s new house is for her!
For Brenda, house means having the ability to entry her total home whereas in her wheelchair. For others, house is the place the place the fireplace crackles every winter night or the place the home windows let within the daylight on a shiny, spring day. Our properties, huge and small, hold us secure and dry throughout stormy climate and are locations of consolation once we really feel weary. The mushy rug on the ground, the odor of cookies baking within the oven, or the sound of laughter across the dinner desk—all of those and extra can remind us of our house.
A few of us have been blessed to stay in the identical house for years, whereas others have created a home numerous times and in multiple cities. Both means, the properties we stay in are a blessing from the Lord. A blessing that protects, comforts, and refreshes us.
Thank God at the moment for the blessing of your own home. Stroll slowly by means of your own home, thanking Him for the roof over your head and for the ground beneath your toes. Thank Him for the partitions and the home windows and every little thing contained inside them. Then thank God for the individuals who have stuffed your own home with laughter and recollections.
Blessing Three: Nourishment
Dance, Pray, Pizza!
At some point my spouse, Donna, came across a mom with two little ladies who had been standing in entrance of a comfort retailer in our group. At first, she drove previous them, however she knew in her coronary heart she was supposed to assist them. So she went to a close-by pizzeria and acquired a pizza. When she returned, she handed the girl some cash and gave the pizza to the little ladies. As she informed me the story, she choked up.
“Honey,” she stated, “I’ve by no means seen two little ladies so hungry and so excited to get a pizza.”
For some, the supply of their subsequent meal is unknown. For others, the fridge and pantry are all the time totally stocked. Both means, every meal and every snack are a blessing from the Lord. The nourishment we obtain offers us power and vitamins to perform what God has known as us to do every day. We pause and pray earlier than meals in acknowledgement of God’s present of nourishment.
Earlier than He fed the 4 thousand in Matthew 15, Jesus paused and lifted up His voice in a prayer of thanks. Earlier than feeding the 5 thousand with the younger boy’s bread and fish in Luke 9, He did the identical. And on the Final Supper, He gave thanks earlier than the meal (Matthew 26:27).
A prayer of thanksgiving earlier than we eat ought to be greater than a behavior; it ought to be a time of reflection on God’s goodness to us. Whether or not alone or with our households, whether or not consuming at our personal desk or becoming a member of others at a restaurant, it’s acceptable to pause lengthy sufficient to thank Him from whom all blessings stream. Every time you eat a meal at the moment, thank God for offering you with meals and vitamin.
Blessing 4: Provision
Proper on Time Blessings
G. Christian Weiss, a preferred Bible instructor, started his ministry in northern Minnesota the place the winters had been harsh and lengthy. One night, as his spouse served a bowl of potatoes for supper, she stated, “That is it.” Their pantry was exhausted. Bowing their heads, they thanked God for the potatoes and reminded Him of their wants.
A knock sounded on the door. “We had been anticipating a crew of staff at the moment,” stated the customer, the spouse of a forest ranger, “however they phoned to say they weren’t in a position to get by means of. I had a giant dinner ready for them, and my husband and I’ll by no means be capable to eat all that meals earlier than it spoils. May you come over and have supper with us?”
In a couple of minutes, the Weisses bowed their heads once more to hope over a meal—not considered one of boiled potatoes, however of “roast duck with all of the trimmings, greens, and pie.”2
Simply as God offered for the Weisses by means of the generosity of a neighbor, He gives for us as nicely in response to His personal finest timing. He gives a brand new job precisely once we want one. He gives an sudden examine within the mail to cowl the price of an unanticipated automobile restore. In His excellent timing, He meets our wants in many alternative methods.
Within the e book of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “Don’t worry, saying, ‘What we could eat?’ or ‘What we could drink?’ or ‘What we could put on?’… On your heavenly Father is aware of that you simply want all this stuff” (Matthew 6:31-32). Our Heavenly Father is aware of our wants even earlier than we ask. And once we do ask, let or not it’s with the attention that He has already been at work to fulfill the necessity. So pray and belief, and let Him present and bless. He’ll meet our wants. Be grateful at the moment for the unending provide of provision that flows from our Almighty God.
Blessing 5: Well being
Take a Deep Breath
Thousands and thousands of individuals worldwide endure from debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s illness, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and a number of sclerosis. Nobody can actually perceive the frustrations and difficulties brought on by these diseases until they’re personally affected by them. These illnesses may be troublesome to handle and take their toll on people and their households and caregivers.
Many wholesome persons are extremely grateful for the present of well being. However at instances those that aren’t plagued with a life-altering illness could take their good well being with no consideration, not totally understanding the day by day blessing of a totally practical physique.
In writing to his good friend Gaius, the apostle John stated, “I pray that you could be prosper in all issues and be in well being, simply as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). The physique’s potential to remain wholesome is really a present from God. After we come down with an innocuous sickness like a chilly, we’re grateful when the sore throat, congestion, and cough disappear. The power to take a deep breath is a real blessing! Giving thanks for our well being (whether or not good or unhealthy) is proof that we perceive that our our bodies aren’t our personal; they belong to God.
Maybe you’ve heard folks pray, “Lord, we thank You that we’re in addition to we’re.” None of us are in excellent bodily form; all of us are topic to sickness. However in heaven we’ll be perfectly whole. Till then, we will specific our gratitude to God for no matter diploma of well being we’ve by being good stewards of those miraculous our bodies during which we work, serve, and play every day. Thank God at the moment for the well being He has given you. Thank Him for the miracle that’s your physique. And rejoice that in Christ we will take pleasure in considerable residing in physique, thoughts, and soul.
Blessing Six: Work
Spreadsheets and Leaf Blowers
Work, it doesn’t matter what we do, is a sacred calling. Some folks suppose something associated to the religious life is sacred, whereas our on a regular basis work is secular. Nothing may very well be extra unbiblical! Humanity was created for a lifetime of service to God, making all of life a sacred endeavor.
Sure, work turned harder after sin entered the world, however that corruption didn’t change the basic worth of labor. It’s significant and required of all who bear God’s picture. Whether or not you’re employed as a CEO, a landscaper, a plumber, a instructor, or an accountant—your work is a present and calling from God. Volunteering and dealing within the house are not any exception; the position you play and the duties you full are blessings from God.
The work we do at the moment could also be difficult and tiring, however we should always nonetheless thank God for it as a result of it’s His present to us. Work is among the methods God meets our wants. How great it’s to know that the Divine Employer has a process for every of us at the moment!
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “No matter you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and to not males, realizing that from the Lord you’ll obtain the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” And Psalm 100:2 tells us to “serve the Lord with gladness.” Our work is among the methods we display to others what it means to be a Christian. We work heartily and with gladness as a result of we’re working for Christ and never for males. As you start your workday, no matter that may appear to be, thank God for the blessing of labor and for the blessing of having the ability to serve Him in all you do.
Blessing Seven: Church
United We’re Blessed
On the Final Supper with His disciples, Jesus gave them a “new commandment”: “Love each other; as I’ve cherished you…love each other.” He then went on to say that their love for each other is what would distinguish them after He was gone (John 13:34-35). Their love for each other is what would let the world know they had been His followers. Though the church is made up of individuals from all walks of life, our love of Christ unites us.
What a blessing to benefit from the love of others throughout the church every day! As we meet collectively every Sunday and all through the week, our hearts are uplifted, and our walks with Christ are strengthened by means of fellowship. The love of Christ is demonstrated in the practical ways we serve and assist each other—an encouraging textual content message throughout a troublesome week, a meal dropped at us once we are ailing, or a deep theological dialog over espresso. After we love one another nicely, all of us are blessed.
Even once we are unable to attend church or Bible research, the absence of that friendship reminds us of how blessed we’re to collect within the identify of Jesus. We lengthy for the group we expertise once we are with different believers and for the power we obtain as we go about every day. Even in troublesome instances—particularly in troublesome instances!—the church is a blessing. By no means underestimate the worth of a group that remembers others and cares for all of its members with equal measure and love. Thank God at the moment for the blessing of the church, for the love and group of different believers. Spend a couple of moments praying in your native church and thanking God for these whom you worship and serve alongside.
Citations:
1“Neighbors Construct Neighborhood By Multifamily Houses,” Habitat for
Humanity, https://www.habitat.org/tales/neighbors-build-communitythrough-
multifamily-homes.
2Dave Branon, ed., Collectively With God: Tales of Religion (Grand Rapids, MI: Our
Each day Bread Publishing, 2018).
This text is an excerpt from Season of Gratitude: A Celebration of Thanksgiving.
The publish Thanksgiving Devotions for Counting Your Blessings appeared first on David Jeremiah Blog.
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