Better Than I Deserve

 

When someone asks you how you're going, and things are going well, what is your default answer? Fine? Good? Okay? Great? I know that is often my reply.

I've been doing a lot of study and soul searching lately on the subject of gratitude, and its importance in our lives. True gratitude is something that we all have to work on. Given what God has done for us, the salvation He so freely offers, and the eternal security we can have, our lives should overflow with gratitude. We as Christians should be the most thankful people on earth!

But all too often, we choose to whine and not worship.

The Bible reminds us that everything we have comes from God 

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 

The title of this post is actually an answer to my question at the start. How are you going? I read of a man, whose default answer to this question was,

“Better than I deserve”. 

Gratitude is not just a reporter of details, but a revealer of the heart. If we got what we really deserved, we definitely wouldn't be 'fine'. But God, in is His great mercy, chooses to shower us with blessings, and so, we get 'better than we deserve' every day. 

God's grace is so abundant, that we often take things for granted. Little things, that if we were deprived of them, we'd be pretty miserable. There is so much to be thankful for, and yet, we neglect to give thanks to God. 

There are so many passages of scripture related to giving thanks to God. The Psalms are full of praise to God. In 1 Chronicles, David instructs the Levites to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise the Lord. In the book of Daniel, we see him kneeling before God three times a day, giving thanks to God. The Bible is full of men and women worshipping and praising God and giving thanks. 

I want my life to be a life of gratitude to God. A life of thankfulness. I have been convicted of my lack of thankfulness and my complaining spirit. When we sit down and seriously begin to count all the blessings in our lives, we find that there are so many and they are so numerous, that we are unable to write them all down, because our list would be never-ending. And not just physical blessings either. We have so many spiritual blessings as well. God's holiness. God's faithfulness. God's mercy. God's nearness. And the list goes on. And on. And on. 

And so, the challenge for us all, is to become more grateful. To worship and not whine. To make our default answer, “Better than I deserve”. God doesn't owe us anything, yet He chose to come down to earth and humble Himself and give His life so that we could experience life in Heaven with Him forever.

If we have salvation, we most definitely have better than we deserve. If we can think of nothing else to be thankful for, we have the greatest gift of all. Eternal security and a God who will never leave us or forsake us.

If we are alive and breathing, we have better than we deserve. If we have ears to hear, eyes to see, legs to walk, a mouth to speak, we have better than we deserve. If we have food on the table and a roof over our head, we have better than we deserve. Need I go on? 

Don’t be content to only recognize what you are grateful for but strive to speak out and express your appreciation to God and others. It’s not enough to be thankful in your heart, you need to speak it out, sing it out, shout it out! Let the world know about God’s goodness to you.

Psalm 145:3, 5, 21 KJV - Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. ... I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. ... My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. 

Psalm 135:3 KJV - Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

Remember that each time you wake with the light of the morning, it is a blessing and a gift from God and you’re getting better than you deserve!

Express your thankfulness to God often and share with others the blessings you receive.

When we get to Heaven, we’ll be singing God’s praises for ever. For all eternity. So, the praises you sing here on earth are just a dress rehearsal for Heaven. 

Start practicing now!

 

Revelation 4:8 KJV - And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Revelation 5:9 KJV - And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;