giving thanks when things suck

~be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. this is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.~
1 thessalonians 5:16-18


it isn't easy to be grateful all the time.
my default mode is set to "brood, worry, & complain".
switching out of that mode takes considerable effort.
i mention this because i've been working against my default a lot lately.
we're trying to sell our house back in detroit with a nasty economy,
and we're working our way out of an equally nasty financial situation.

so let's get thankful, eh?
well, if that's what you want, God, i'll give it my best shot.

the first step for me to get there was to realize that,
when faced with a problem,
i shook my puny fist at God & declared loudly,
"this sucks!"
and, of course, i went through the ick & guck & was better for it.
so i started to see a problem & think,
"this sucks, but not really because something cool will come from it."

note: this was not because i was becoming a better person;
it was totally because God was taking over.
left to myself, i would still be shaking my fist & complaining about my rotator cuff.

so He got me thinking about giving thanks.
and i started doing it each time i felt beat down.
"this sucks" ---> "...so thank You!"

it's getting easier with practice,
and i can tell God's claimed more parts of me as a result.
that in itself is something i can give thanks for...
amidst the suckiness...
which probably isn't that sucky after all.

in motion & out of strength

i heard a comment today that really stuck with me:
God doesn't give strength to us when we're in motion.

the context of this is NOT that God doesn't help us when we have a lot going on.
in fact, the person who said it remarked that God always makes sure we won't run out of steam when we are under pressure.

the context of this statement IS that we need to be taking time to be still before God,
taking time to listen to Him & accept His strength as He works within us.
He doesn't toss strength as us as we run from starbucks to our car while we're on our cell phone.

our God is an intimate God.
His strength comes from those focused, intimate moments together.

the black hole

my mouth gets me into a lot of trouble.
don't get me wrong --
i TRY to make it do good things.
but sometimes it just seems to have a mind of its own.

in reading ephesians 4, it's interesting how many things we are warned against that have to do with our mouths.
even the indirect ones, like being angry, are often expressed through words.

so how do we keep our black holes from sucking us into oblivion?

i've been trying to team up with the Spirit within me to get some of this tendency-toward-implosion under control.
trouble is that i like to do it on my terms,
and i find myself using my mouth to do a lot of the talking.
the Spirit, though, seems to prefer me to quiet down.
It wants to share some ideas on self-control, being that self-control is one of Its very own fruits.

so what am i learning?
to slow down.
to listen up.
to stay in rhythm with the Spirit, who in turn guides my words.

now, i'm still human.
so the words aren't always spot on,
and sometimes they are COMPLETELY off.
but then my mouth can do something really useful:
apologize.

i know i can't seal the black hole,
but i guess i'm praying that God will make me into a supernova.
a supernova that is really good at listening to Him.

the dirty rag problem

the first time someone informed me of what "dirty rags" translated to in the Bible, it freaked me out.
and i felt really bad about all i was trying to do.
i was one of those kids who liked to work hard & make others proud.
all-american.
good work ethic.

and then i find out that God doesn't care about that stuff.

shoot.

i wanted so badly to win His favor with my smart thinkin', elbow grease, & lovableness,
but i come find out He just wanted me to LET GO of my need to earn His favor.
because i already have it.

but how could that be?
and why was it that when i DID try to win Him over things got all the more difficult?

it's taken me a lot of tries --
probably in the triple digits by now --
to not try.

today, i caught myself coming up with yet another plan to make God like me & make myself more usable for Him.
the dirty rags were piling up.
yet He's so patient, isn't He?

my prayer is that i let go of my need to act & earn,
and that i let my loving God direct me into the work He has for me.
that i act in His guidance & grace, not my own drive.

at some point, i gotta admit it:
i'm no good when i go in with my own agenda.
i guess i might as well make that confession today.