30 Days of Gratitude

 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 1 - Day 5

Day 1: Beauty in the Mess

 

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

 

As Isaiah writes prophetically to Israel, they were mired in the desperate circumstances of captivity and exile. God wants to put their eyes on the new work He will do, so it begins with a reminder to not remember the former things. If they are stuck in the failure and sin and discouragement of the past, they will never go forward to the new thing God has for them. The same thing happens in our lives, when we’re stuck in the past we can move forward. Many times we miss the good thing God has for us.

 

Isaiah 43:18, in the NKJV puts it this way, do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. This shows us that there is a sense in which we must remember the past, in terms of God’s great work on our behalf. There is also a sense in which we must forsake and forget the past, with all its discouragement and defeat, and move on to what God has for us in the future.

 

Behold, I will do a new thing: Staying stuck in the past can keep us from the new thing God wants to do. If Israel stayed stuck in the discouragement and seduction of Babylon, they would never look for the new thing of release from exile.

 

Forget the past and let God do a new thing! If you don’t already have one, start a journal write all your blessings, all things your grateful for (even that parking at the front of the store) and watch God move.

 

Day 2: Learning to let go

 

Be still, and know that I am God: The idea is not that the faithful reader should stop activity and stand in one place. The sense is more that argument and opposition should stop and be still. This is done in recognition of God's glory and greatness.

 

The idea is something like this: "As you know the glory and greatness of God, stop your mouth from arguing with Him or opposing Him. Simply surrender."

 

The appropriately silenced man or woman of God can glory in God's exaltation. God's triumph will extend far beyond Israel to all the earth.

 

Day 3: “Romancing the Ordinary”

 

One definition of romancing means to tell stories that are not true; another is happy but short-lived.

 

The definition of ordinary is the regular or customary condition or course of things.

 

So, as I look at today’s prompt I as myself, “can I truly be happy romancing the ordinary?” My answer is an emphatic “no!” Doing the same thing day after expecting a different result, that’s insanity. God didn’t call us to be ordinary but extraordinary. We are to be a light shining on a hill that cannot be hid, for all the world to see. He call us out of the ordinary

 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV

 

We have a good, good Father who wants nothing but the best for us.

 

We expect no true goodness from our own fallen natures and from those who would entice us. But every good and every perfect gift comes from God the Father in heaven.

 

Of course, the ultimate goodness of any gift must be measured on an eternal scale. Something that may seem to be only good (such as winning money in a lottery) may in fact be turned to our destruction.

 

With whom there is no variation or shadow of turning: God’s goodness is constant. There is no variation with Him. Instead of shadows, God is the Father of lights.

 

According to Hiebert, the ancient Greek is actually “the Father of the lights.” The specific lights are the celestial bodies that light up the sky, both day and night. The sun and stars never stop giving light, even when we can’t see them. Even so, there is never a shadow with God. When night comes, the darkness isn’t the fault of the sun; it shines as brightly as before. Instead, the earth has turned from the sun and darkness comes.

Day 4: “Big Dreams”

 

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Ephesians 3:20-21

 

Paul says that God is able to do above all that we ask or think. The we included Paul and the other apostles and they certainly knew that Jesus could do great things.

· You can ask for every good thing you have ever experienced - God can do above that.

· You can think of or imagine things beyond your experience - God can do above that.

· You can imagine good things that are beyond your ability to name - God can do above that.

 

Read verses 14–19 to get the full context Paul’s prayer.

 

To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus: The only fitting response to this great God is to give Him glory - especially in the church, the company of His redeemed, and that He receive that glory throughout all ages, world without end - Amen!

 

As Paul came to this great height (what can there be higher than the fullness of God?), it is logical to ask how this can ever be. How can something so far above us ever become reality? It can only happen because God is able to do far beyond what we ask or think.

 

This doxology does not only belong to the prayer that precedes it, but also to every glorious privilege and blessing spoken of in the first three chapters. Who is able to bring such things to pass? Only God can do this because He can do far beyond our ability to think or ask.

 

Paul says that God is able to do above all that we ask or think. The we included Paul and the other apostles and they certainly knew that Jesus could do great things.

· You can ask for every good thing you have ever experienced - God can do above that.

· You can think of or imagine things beyond your experience - God can do above that.

· You can imagine good things that are beyond your ability to name - God can do above that.

 

Spurgeon on the phrase exceedingly abundantly: “He has constructed here in the Greek an expression which is altogether his own. No language was powerful enough for the apostle, - I mean for the Holy Ghost speaking through the apostle, - for very often Paul has to coin words and phrases to shadow forth his meaning, and here is one, ‘He is able to do exceeding abundantly,’ so abundantly that it exceeds measure and description.” (Spurgeon) “Therefore he is able to do all things, and able to do superabundantly above the greatest abundance.” (Clarke)

 

According to the power that works in us: God is able to do this in our life now, not beginning with heaven. This power... works in us now.

i. The things Paul prayed for in the previous verses (spiritual strength, the indwelling Jesus, experiential knowledge of God’s love, and the fullness of God) belong to us as children of God. However, they must be received by believing prayer and can be furthered in the lives of others by our prayers for them.

 

To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus: The only fitting response to this great God is to give Him glory - especially in the church, the company of His redeemed, and that He receive that glory throughout all ages, world without end - Amen!

 

When the church understands and walks in God’s eternal purpose, God will be glorified and the church will fulfill its important duty of simply glorifying God.

 

“But the apostle felt that he must not say, ‘Unto him be glory in my soul.’ He wished that, but his one soul afforded far too little space, and so he cried ‘unto him, be glory in the church.’ He calls upon all the people of God to praise the divine name.” (Spurgeon)

 

Day 5: Grace upon Grace

 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NIV

 

God has come close to you in Jesus Christ. You don’t have to struggle to find Him; He came to you.

 

The glory of Jesus wasn’t primarily an adrenaline rush and certainly not a sideshow. It was full of grace and truth.

 

He is ‘full of grace.’ In the person of Jesus Christ the immeasurable grace of God is treasured up.”

 

God is grace, and truth.

 

“Our wild and free spirits” is our prompt for today.

 

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV

 

Timothy was a gifted, valuable man for the kingdom of God; but he seems to have had a timid streak in him. For this reason, Paul often encouraged him to be strong and bold.

 

“Stir up the gift of God which is in you; be bold, get going, go for it. Some have gifts given to them by God, but those gifts are neglected. They need to be stirred up and put into action.

 

Stir up has the idea of stirring up a fire to keep it burning bright and strong; a fire left to itself will always burn out, but God wants us to keep our gifts burning strong for Him.

 

“The Greek anazopureo (stir up) means either ‘to kindle afresh’ or ‘to keep in full flame’. There is no suggestion that Timothy had lost his passion or fire, although undoubtedly, like every Christian, he needed an incentive to keep the fire burning at full flame.”

 

Stir up your gifts, strong and bold, fan the flame of faith sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.