Inspired by . . . greater than all the gods
Focusing on Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, not just a holiday.
Many years ago my husband and I owned a small business and had several employees. There were days that were stressful. There were times when my husband made business decisions that I didn’t necessarily agree with. It was hard living out our personal relationship, and our business relationship in front of others.
Because how do you really separate the two? You don’t.
What made it even more difficult, was that I was determined to be a Godly example both as a person, and as a wife. Not that I didn’t fail. I’m certain I did, often. But even in my failures, maybe especially in my failures, I wanted to be a good example of a believer in Christ.
Why?
Because our employees were not Believers . . . they knew we were . . .
. . . and they were watching.
If you profess to be a believer in Christ, I guarantee there are people watching you. {and lest you think you need to be perfect in this, you may want to go back up and read what I said about failures}
Your marriage {if you are married} and your relationship with others is one of the most challenging and fruitful places to exemplify Christ.
The other is in showing our gratitude to God for the things He has done, and is doing in our lives.
“when we respond to our circumstances, particularly the difficult ones,
with gratitude to our Lord, we bear witness to others around us
of His existence and His goodness.”
There are numerous examples of this truth in scripture. One is the response of Moses’ father-in-love, Jethro in Exodus 18:8:11, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”
When Moses sang his song of gratitude to the Lord in Exodus 15 , Jethro’s eyes were opened to the One True God.
Another example, and one of my favorites, is found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are beaten and put in jail. Yet, after all this, at midnight they could be heard praying and singing songs to God. Now before we are tempted to do them a disservice by thinking they were only roughed up a bit, the scripture says, “And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.” Paul and Silas had their flesh laid open, and yet they were praising and thanking God for all He had done for them.
Their perspective is a difficult one to achieve. Yet it is one that saves.
Read the result of their gratitude: Acts 16:25-34
The jailer and his entire household were saved!
People are watching.
People need hope.
You never know how one small act of kindness, one small offer of thanksgiving to God will be received.
We are the salt – we are the light.
Go – shine forth and season with love.
With gratitude,
PS Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily inspirations on cultivating a grateful heart! I would love for you to join the discussion!
Note: My inspiration for this series comes from the November 2009 issue of Today in the Word. A ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
#monthofthanks
#TellHisStory
Sharing inspiration here:
Very thought provoking post. The older I get the more I am aware of how I present my self to people. It's not only what I say but how I love out what I say on a daily bases.
ReplyDeleteThinking back to the early days of my Christianity, I cringe. Sometimes, even as a mature Christian, I do or say things that I know are disappointing to God and his message. It doesn't happen as often, but the fact that they happen at all makes me feel defeated. The mistakes certainly keep me humble! Especially when I go to God to confess my sins...usually the same ones. :/
ReplyDeleteI love taking time to read your blog posts. You are always so real, so faithful, so loving. I've sworn I will stand in this "hallway" and be thankful for it...challenging, for sure, but thankful nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI so believe this, June, and God has really been speaking to my heart about how I live out my faith in front of non-believers especially. But really in all situations. My husband and I are dealing with a family issue and the struggle comes in the choices we make versus what we know is the right choice in God's eye. Because are choices almost always have an impact on others. Will we portray Christ? It's convicting. Thank you for sharing. Love you much. xoxo
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wish people were not watching. But you're right--they are, and we need to keep that in mind. Thankful for God's grace!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful thoughts. We talked about something very similar at our Bible Study this morning. - Your leaf photo is just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAmen. I have experienced this and know that I may be the ONLY image of Christ that some people may ever see. Yes, I fail, too. It is in the way we come back from failure that others see too, the words we say, the apologies, the asking for forgiveness, etc., that can make such a difference too. The Scriptures you use here, June, are great examples. So thankful that I came by from The Weekend Brew.
ReplyDeleteCaring through Christ, ~ linda
You are right. A watching world watches, but our God watches over you. ~Chris~
ReplyDeleteIt's enough to read the title and the first lines of your writing to understand the deepness of your heart, my dear, and while going on reading your words sounds like a good medicine for my soul, believe me !
ReplyDeleteBe Blessed, thank you so much
Dany