A young boy wakes up on Christmas morning, so excited he can hardly contain himself. Within a second of his eyes opening up, he jumps out of bed and runs to the living room where a bounty of gifts awaits him under the tree. He scans the enormous pile of gifts, looking for the one package that might be the gift he'd been hoping for all year.
"Maybe it's in here!" he thinks to himself as he picks up one of the packages and shakes it. "No, that's too light. It can't be this one." He picks up another and gives it a shake. No, it couldn't be that one either.
He runs to his parent's bedroom and jumps on the bed. "Mom!! Dad!!! Can I open my presents now??!?" he shouts.
His parents, tired as they are, are happy to see his excitement. They were excited too. They climb out of bed and follow him into the living room, smiling widely. They had put a lot of thought into every gift they purchased, each one being absolutely perfect for a boy his age. They were certain that he would be thrilled with everything.
As the boy tore through the pile of gifts, his face drew more and more downcast. He didn't see the one gift he had wanted more than anything, and with every gift he opened, the odds were more and more against him that it was there. He opened the last gift, hardly even paying attention to what it was. He got up slowly and began to walk away from the pile of presents.
"Wait a minute!!" he thought. "I'll bet Dad hid it in the garage to trick me!!" Excitement filled his face as he ran to the garage and looked inside. Nothing there but the family car. "Wait!! The closets!! I'll check the closets!!" he thought. He ran back inside and rushed to every closet, throwing the doors open hoping to see it there. After searching everywhere, it was clear to him that he hadn't received the one gift he had dreamed of. He walked back to the living room, picked up his presents, and brought them to his room. Over the course of the next month, he never played with any of them, completely discouraged that he didn't get what he really wanted. What he didn't know was that his parents had considered buying him the gift, but they knew deep down inside that he simply wasn't ready for it. Had they given it to him now, it would've been misused and not appreciated for it's fully intended purpose.
You might read this and think "What a spoiled little dweeb." But how often do we do the same thing to God?
If any of us look around us, we will find countless things to be thankful for. Gifts from God in every area of our lives, given to us because they are perfect for us right here and right now. But how often do we look at the one thing we don't have and allow the lack of it to blind us to all that we already have? How many gifts do we have that sit in the bedroom closets of our minds, completely unused and unappreciated? How often do we instead search endlessly for the gifts we haven't been given, looking in closets, in the garage, under the bed, assuming that there must be some kind of mistake?
Just like the boy in this story, what if we were to sit with our Father and allow Him to show us not only the beauty of each gift, but also how we could use it to the best of our ability? How would that change our lives? How would that change our perspective?
As Nate taught this week, Jesus said:
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." - John 15:7
Does this mean that we'll get whatever we want, whenever we want it? No. The key to this verse is the very beginning. "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you......"
If that's where we are, then our hearts and minds will be in harmony with God's, leaving us to ask what we truly believe is His will. If we ask for what we know is within God's will for our lives, then anything we ask for will already be ours. Not only that, but He waill also show us the beauty of what we already have, and how best to use those gifts.
Knowing that we are living out God's will in our lives will give us the truest sense of peace, joy, and comfort that we could ever possibly experience, no matter what our circumstances may be. That is something to be truly thankful for not only this Thanksgiving, but for every day of our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment