Burdens into Blessings
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A very happy new year to you! I pray you will be abundantly blessed in 2023. May the sorrows of the past year be turned into joy in this new year.
As I start the new year, the verse below has come to my attention. I'm praying it - and standing on the promise it proclaims.
"The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11
Thanking the Lord in advance that He will "strengthen my frame." He has faithfully done that these past years.
I don't make new year's resolutions, but I do try to be sensitive to the Lord's voice if He is wanting to say something to me for the year ahead. I've sensed a theme in my daily quiet times. I read this quote from Sarah Young: "A thankful attitude opens windows of heaven through which spiritual blessings fall freely." I love the visual imagery of that - windows flying open as we lift up praise and thankfulness......and blessings flowing out like a river......cascading down upon us.
Being encouraged to be thankful is by no means a new thought to me. It was a "tool" God put into my hands these last 8 years while battling cancer and caring for Floyd in his illness. Time and time again the Lord spoke to me that worship and thankfulness would be a lifeline of strength and power to get me through all the hard things. I clung to that lifeline, and purposed in my heart every single day to be thankful - for even the smallest details in my life. The more thankful I was, the more joy and strength I had. It was a wonderful gift!
I'm feeling challenged to make a fresh commitment to thankfulness. Many of the things I'm facing are new and different, but the same principle applies. One thing that we are having is load shedding - where the electricity goes off in 2 1/2 hour blocks anywhere from 1 to 4 times a day. It's frustrating, and it's hard to plan your day as the load shedding times change frequently. I confess that my normal response is irritation. I feel I'm to look for things to be thankful for rather than being irritated. I'm going to work on that!
Learning to be thankful in whatever comes our way changes everything! I remember times of standing by Floyd's bed with tears flowing while I thanked the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness. Comfort came as I thanked and worshipped the Lord.
There were times during my chemo treatments that I was so weak and my mouth so full of sores that I couldn't even speak out my thankfulness - so I thought it. I remember feeling the Lord so close, and His encouragement was so tangible. I felt fresh strength to keep going in the battle.
I'm convinced, and my experiences of recent years have taught me that there is always, always ALWAYS something to be thankful for. We just need to still our hearts and listen to the Spirit reminding us!
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalm 100:4
"In everything give thanks." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts...and be thankful." Colossians 3:15
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" 1 Chronicles 16:34
"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
"His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1
There is an abundance of verses about being thankful. Clearly it was what was on God's heart for us! Praising God turns our trials and burdens into blessings. Only God could have organized that!
P.S. As I was reflecting on having a heart of thankfulness, I received the following from Slavic Ministries quoting a woman named Maia in Ukraine:
"Kyiv is a city that may have no electricity but always has pistachio latte because of power generators busily buzzing in front of coffee shops.
Kyiv is a city that may have no electricity and water supply for days, but its residents are clean and well-groomed because they leave bedroom lights on at night to wake up and take a shower as soon as the power is back.
Kyiv is a city that may have no electricity, water, or heat for a few days, but the girls would always have their nails done. Because they want to feel beautiful and because the manicurists have portable battery-powered lamps.
Kyiv is a city that may have no electricity, no water, no heat, or no cell phone service, but it always has fresh bread. And there's plenty of food at the store. And you can pay with your card. And there are garbage trucks picking up garbage. There is snowplowing machinery working during a snowfall. Even though the traffic lights might not work, there seem to be fewer traffic accidents than usual.
One day, the history books will tell about a nation that not only had its warriors defeat the barbarians but also had its civilians manage to remain civilized in the artificial barbaric conditions brought upon them. They managed to maintain their usual civilized lifestyle as much as possible. I don't know how. It's a miracle."
I can't help but think that there are many in Kyiv who have learned to be thankful in difficulty, very great difficulty.