Take a Moment to Thank the Lord

In case my regular readers wondered where I went last Friday, I can tell you I spent a big part of the Memorial Day holiday visiting with people I knew, making lots of new friends, eating fantastic homemade Indian food, and most importantly, spending a lot of time in prayer.  By the end of the weekend, I felt like I had spent time in church camp, not visiting people's homes.

I have shared, here, a restful picture taken on one of my adventures last weekend.  When I took this, I paused a moment and thanked the Lord for such a beautiful scene at sunset, and for the eyes He had given me to see it.

When I got back home and launched back into the "daily grind," stresses from which I had momentarily escaped came rushing back in to my awareness.  It seemed as if some of them had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for me to arrive home, and perhaps that is what happened.  I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I do believe that the constant enemy of Christians is Satan.  He is always waiting to make trouble, because he knows that a distracted Christian is useless for the kingdom of God.

So today I overslept, and have spent the entire day feeling as if I am running to catch up, and beating myself up for my lack of focus on my job.  Has this ever happened to you?  It came down to a mad dash to the post office just over an hour ago to deliver a box I intended to deliver by 2 o'clock, and just as I got there, I saw the postman closing the mailing office and locking the door (it was 5 o'clock, after all).  Several grumbling people walked out the door as I stepped in to drop off my box in the bin in the outer foyer of the post office.

That's when I remembered to thank the Lord for prepaid postage!  If I hadn't had that, I would have been forced to come back tomorrow.

In fact, on my way back home, I remembered to thank the Lord for air conditioned cars, traffic laws that fend off accidents, sunshine and warm temperatures after a long cold season, mail in the mailbox (even if it is just junk mail), libraries, my college degree, good friends who care, and so many more things.  By the time I got back home, the stressed feeling was falling away, and now I felt empowered enough to finish my tasks for the day, late or not.

Because of this, I am feeling convinced right now that if we want to fend off Satan from our lives, it has to start with an attitude of thankfulness, even if it is over a tiny thing, like prepaid postage.  The fog of Satanic distractions that threatens to pull us under can fade away in an instant, when we remember what we have in Christ.  We are always blessed, always cared for, always comforted.  The God who looks down from above on all our little worries is willing to deal with them personally.  He isn't just the God we talk at when in the throes of our stressed-out routines, He is the God who listens.  He sends us peace.  He sent us His Son (John 20:19)!

Our energy comes from the Lord, and our help is found in Him!  Let us remember that God is greater than our troubles and distractions, and let us thank God for caring about us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2: 6,7 NIV 2011)