Being Grateful

Wow I must have been tired. I slept for over 8 hours. That’s big for me!

Lack of sleep catches up with you and so often affects your demeanour and how you cope with things.

I seem to never get enough sleep as I get older. Either can’t sleep for no reason or my knees are annoying me and speaking to me when my mind and brain need to rest.

Or I have grandchildren over that are up at the earliest of hours and need supervision.

One morning I was trying to help one of the little ones with their breakfast.

The porridge I made them was not like how mum makes it. The toast was from grain bread, and they did not like the bits in it. So, they asked was there anything else they could have.

I found a small amount of cereal in the pantry (leftover from ages ago) which worked for their stomach. I breathed a sigh of relief. Phew!

Reflecting upon this experience, I felt like I often treat God like this.

I tell him I don’t like what He gives me and want something else that will satisfy me.

Our all-loving God is patient up to a point but gets peeved when we are so ungrateful.

The Israelites were such an ungrateful people. Their God rescued them from slavery and they complained about everything. There was no food, no water so God provided for them. Then it was too monotonous, same food every morning, the complaints kept building up till in the book of Numbers God had had enough.

Now when the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled. Then the fire of the Lord burned against them, and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.

Numbers 11:1 NRSV

Do I show my gratitude to My God for all that He does for me? Provides for me. Protects me. Cares for me. Comforts me. Listens to me. Gives me good things.

Should I not be saying and singing these Psalms daily?

Psalm 7:17 sings of God’s justice

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
    and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 7:17 NRSV

Psalm 26:6-8 speaks of the joy of worshipping in God’s house

I wash my hands in innocence,
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
    and the place where your glory abides.

Psalm 26:6-8 NRSV

Psalm 89:1-2 sings gratitude for God’s mercy.

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, for ever;
    with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
    your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

Psalm 89:1-2 NRSV

Oh, may my heart, mind and voice sing more of thanks than complaint.

May I eat the grain bread and porridge that you give me without complaining and be grateful that I have food. But nourish me more in my Spirit than in my body.

Transform me Lord to be more grateful of all things.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

When you hear others complain how does that make you feel?

What are some of the things that you complain about? Do you complain about these things to God?

How do you think that you could be grateful for what God has given you?