Complaints and questions rolled off my tongue like water cascading over
a waterfall.
Wasn't I working a full-time job? Wasn't I taking
every opportunity that presented itself to make extra money? Wasn't my
wife doing all she could to sell items on Facebook? Why then were the
freezer empty and our cupboard bare? Why was the bank account sitting on
empty just like the gas needle in our car? Why did I have to worry about
whether our insurance company was going to cancel our renter's
insurance?
"I put a little surprise in your car," I heard a
church member and friend whisper. When I looked in the bag after church,
I discovered several things we were out of. Since we hadn't shared this
information with her, I figured God must have. "She also gave us this
card," my wife whispered. I slithered my finger under the flap and
removed the card. After reading the outside, I opened it to peruse the
inside but first had to remove the fifty dollar bill. There was the
remainder of what we needed to pay our renter's insurance.
The
above episode was topped by another the next day. As my wife was
checking our bank account balance to make sure we still had the same
four dollars we had the last time she checked, she discovered a twenty
dollar deposit had been made. Calling the bank to check on this
mysterious deposit, my wife was informed she had made the deposit. But
she hadn't. Now we could gas up the car.
Suddenly, my complaints
seemed very selfish. I had forgotten I served a big God. Paul reminded
first century believers of the same.
God's kindness is worth
thanking Him for. He has poured out His love through the sacrifice of
His Son. I can have all the earthly goods I desire and never have to
worry about some of the above things I've mentioned, but if my sins
remain, my account is still in the negative. God offers freedom from the
debt I owe for my sins if I simply ask for forgiveness. Along with
forgiveness, He gives wisdom and understanding so I can make sense out
of life. And even when it appears senseless, I can thank Him because I
know He understands it when I don't.
What do you have to thank
God for?
Martin Wiles
Hodges, South Carolina, USA
