Skip to main content

Showing Appreciation

"Every person knows disappointment and loss in life.  At those moments, we can express appreciation to others in spite of our own disappointments.  One of the strongest evidences of the power of Christ in us is when we rise above our own circumstances and reach out to others with kindness and gratitude." - Lifeway In 2 Samuel 19, King David was in a precarious position. His army had won, but his son (and enemy) had been defeated and killed. Instead of celebrating the victory of his soldiers, he went into the palace and mourned the loss of his son. By doing so, he had risked losing the trust and support of the people. 2 Samuel 19:8 tells us, "So the king got up and say in the city gate, and all the people were told: 'Look, the king is sitting in the city gate.' Then they all came into the king's presence. Meanwhile, each Israelite had fled to his tent."

1.  We all either have, will, or are, dealing with some sort of loss in life.  It may be a relationship, a loved one, a job, financial, or any other number of things.  Suffering a loss doesn't make us special.  It doesn't mean we don't need or deserve time to recover and grieve, but it cannot become an excuse to become overwhelmed by self-pity.

2.  Pause for a moment while enduring your losses to look at the those around you trying to help.  Are they offering financial assistance, prayer, advice, or some other form of help to help you overcome?  No matter how small or how big their outreach may seem, remember this - they took their time, their talent, and/or their resources to help YOU.  Be thankful. 3. As I said earlier, suffering a disappointment or loss doesn't make you special any more than getting knocked down makes you special. It's getting back up, it's showing appreciation and gratitude during hard times that makes you special. Is it easy? No! Can it be done alone? No! The only way to have the strength to stand back up in the midst of disappointment and loss is through Jesus Christ. We cannot control others' actions or our circumstances, we can only control our response. It's not surprising that David was sad and hurting from the loss of his son. But if he had stayed in mourning, he likely would have lost his kingdom again. Instead, at the advice of one of his most trusted and long-time advisors, he went out among the people. The Bible doesn't tell us what, if anything, David said. But it is clear that his mere presence and availability to the people let them see that he cared for them and appreciated their support. What will your response be the next time you face a loss? Will you respond by withdrawing, becoming self-absorbed, and full of pity? Or will you rise up and show gratitude to those who are there helping you? Be strong, be thankful, and let others know that you appreciate their support, whatever form it may take.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020 is Hindsight...Finally!

Wow, what a year! 2020 could literally be an entire decade, maybe more, of history, change, and lessons rolled up into these twelve months. While many aspects of 2020 were kind of sucky and we would like to forget them, it will certainly be a year to remember. And it will be enlightening when this year is looked back on in 10, 25, or 50 years to be discussed. I wonder if we'll seem like geniuses or idiots? Probably both to some extent! While there is so much that I could consider and analyze about this year, I'll try to break some of it down into four dimensions - Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Social/Emotional. These are events and happenings from my world and perspective and I'm trying to be open in sharing and would love to hear from others on events you found most transforming. Physical When COVID cause gyms to close, that messed me up. Our town and state were late to be hit with severe cases and therefore later than many across the country to close up shop. I'm n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worship > Fellowship

I believe that worship, true worship of God, is more important than fellowship with other believers.  Now I'm not saying that fellowship and relationships aren't important.  But I am saying that if I'm not worshiping God, if I'm not right with him, then my other relationships can't be right.  My fellowship and worship with him is more important than my relationship with my wife, my son, family, friends, my church, and my community.  Think about it.  How can I love my wife like Christ loved the church if I don't love Christ?  I wouldn't know how to love without knowing him.  Why should she submit to me if I'm not worth submitting to?  And yes I do believes wives should submit, but I also believe that won't be an issue as long as she's submitting to a godly husband.  (Ephesians 5:22-25) Our love for others must flow from our love and worship of God.  1 John 4:19-21 reads, "We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do You Need Revival?

"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in You?" - Psalm 85:6 The thoughts below were in my devotional this morning by Dr. Lee Sheppard: "So how can we know if we need revival in our lives?  Well, we need revival when our salvation has lost its joy, when our sin does not break our heart, and when we make little to no effort to witness to the lost.  We need revival when worship becomes boring, when we are at odds with believers and see no need for reconciliation, and when we fail to believe God for the impossible.  We need revival when we have to be begged to give and serve in church and when we would rather make money than give money.  We need revival when we have to be entertained to be drawn to church and when we are indifferent to the fact that there are 2.5 billion people on the planet who have never heard the name of Jesus.  We need revival when we don't regularly see the supernatural evidence of God's power and when ...
Post a Comment
Read more