Everyone of us have seasons when we hit bottoms and although we have different ways of expressing our pains and grief, we all feel that God has denied us of something tangible and so we lament. It might be for a split second but we cause more damage to ourselves than we can imagine. So, we forget the innumerable blessings and unmerited favors we have enjoyed in the past and allow our present predicaments overcome us to the point we utter gibberish against God as if God has never been good to us. Parents understand the feeling when children make them feel like they’re wicked because they were denied something (often inconsequential). It’s more painful if the parent’s action is for the good of the children. But that’s how we make God feel. It’s about the gift not the giver.
No matter how bad your life is, you still have countless memorable experiences and numerous reasons to appreciate God if you think deep enough. Pause and remember the days when God gave you a breakthrough without your asking. Then you told the world how good God was and now he isn’t?. Have you ever paused to imagine millions living without food or many more whose bodies have been ravaged by sickness? If you are reading this online, have you considered millions who have never used a pen aside using a computer? An adage in Yoruba parlance states “Eni ba mo nu ro, a mope da” (if you think deep, you will know how to thank). The reason why we complain is because we don’t think deep enough. There are uncountable reasons in your life to appreciate God for.
The lie of the devil is to keep you busy thinking and crying about what you don’t have or what has gone wrong in your life to keep you dejected. The devil knows the power of appreciation and so strives to keep that away from your lips. He knows that appreciation paves way for more blessings and that no one can stop the flow of God’s blessings upon a thankful heart. Another adage in the Yoruba parlance states that “if a man says 'thank you' for yesterday’s blessing, he will get another one today”. Have you thanked God for the blessings of yesterday yet? Get on it right now. If it’s difficult to voice it, write it down by thinking deeply about what you have been blessed with in the past month, week, day, hour. Look around you, there are many reasons to thank God. Write ten of them down. (it’s ok if you find more). Start right now.
The space below may help you to write and document what God has done for you. You can always come to it when you feel deprived and feel the urge to complain.
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Purest love
