When do we need our hearts enlarged? When do we need quickening?
Unexpected guests. Children awake in the night. Sickness. Sorrow. Breaks and spills. Mud tracked in. Traffic. Lines. Delays. Weeds. Neighbors. Dogs on the loose. Flat tires. Power outages. Canceled flights. Cramped quarters. Forgotten birthdays. Interruptions. Bills. Thoughtlessness. Careless comments. Stains. Overflowing washers. Cuts and scrapes. Fussing babies. Headache. Broken coffee pot.
But we also need quickening and large hearts during those times when we might get complacent. Blue skies. Money in the bank. Feeling fine. Looking good. These can be times of grave danger to our souls. These fair weather days need to be hedged about with prayer and gratitude, just like those days filled with provocation and care. In fact, even more so.
We are creatures with short memories. God can use those tiresome or sickly days to remind us of our many blessings. How often to we thank God that we feel well, unless it is after a day of the flu? Big hearts are constantly counting blessings, on the good days and the bad ones.
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Thank you for a good reminder!
Isn’t it amazing that we live in the wealthiest culture ever on the face of the earth and still complain and act ungrateful so much of the time? Every one of us in this country has medical care at hand, food to eat from all over the world, homes (even the most humble can be made lovely and comfortable), etc, etc. Thanks for the reminder that lack of gratitude in the good times is as sinful as lack of faith in the bad.
This post is very encouraging – thank you!
“How often do we thank God that we feel well, unless it is after a day of the flu?”
I am 6 months into a pregnancy that reminds me moment by moment how unthankful, even unaware I am for health and feeling well during the good times. You would think that I’d learn the lesson, especially seeing that this is the second pregnancy like this, but it seems to be one of those things I’m going to be learning for a long time. 🙂
This is the very thing I felt pressed into my heart today….so encouraging to read it here!
Great follow-up, Nancy!