The Weekly Encourager – March 6, 2014 – Sick and Glad

I'm sick and I'm glad. What? Yes, I actually said that. A few days ago, I started Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Perfect timing for me to practice the principles of gratitude: I had a great weekend, then I got sick! The long weekend had been planned for months, and I looked forward to my own little getaway for artistic and spiritual refreshment. I had a wonderful time at a quilt show, and read chapters of the Bible and the Gratitude book back in my hotel room. Naturally, I found it easy to thank God for giving me this opportunity to get away from responsibilities for three days.

Nancy DeMoss quotes Matthew Henry, who when he was robbed wrote, “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” That stuck in my mind. In the hotel that night came my own tiny trial. There were some loud romping kids in the room next door, who robbed me of sleep on what was “supposed” to be my weekend of rest. Fresh from reading about Matthew Henry's thankful spirit, I decided to immediately thank God for the disturbance. I thanked God that I am fortunate enough, by His providence, to live on a quiet street in a single family house, rather than in a noisy apartment building, where I might have to put up with that level of noise every night! How God has smiled upon me. I spent a few minutes in prayer, then fell asleep.

Driving home from the weekend, I started feeling poorly, and by Sunday evening I knew I was sick with some kind of bug. Now this was harder to thank God for, but I did it anyway. After all, I could be sick like this all the time, instead of only once or twice a year! God had just given me a wonderful weekend. It was not my place to complain that the next few days would be difficult. He is Lord of the Universe, and we worship Him. He sends sunshine, and He sends rain, exactly when and where it's needed according to His eternal plan. I think of the glad Scripture song I learned as a baby Christian:

“I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” - from Psalm 34:1-4

Maybe gratitude is about rights and responsibilities. It's God's right to give or to take away; it's our responsibility to thank Him either way. Every day! We don't have the right to insist upon good health, good relationships, good jobs, good incomes, or anything else in this world, no matter how much we think we “deserve” them. No, our rights are far more significant, like the right to enter the Holy of Holies to worship the Living God! Then there's the right to be adopted into the Heavenly Family, the right to have a place prepared for us, the right to eternal life. Because of our sin, we don't “deserve” these rights either. These rights and many more were purchased for us by Jesus' death on the cross. Therefore, our responsibility is to be ever-faithful, ever-striving, ever-loving, ever-thanking. Nancy DeMoss describes something similar in her book: “These three words – 'guilt,' 'grace,' and 'gratitude' – are at the heart of the gospel. In a sense, they tell the story of the whole Bible.”

Why glad? Along with thanking God for letting me get sick, I of course asked for healing, and naturally I did all I could to get well. But I have found that God puts me in bed for a reason. This time, it was a golden opportunity to practice exactly what I had been reading about, and then to see Him work. It turned out in this case, that this sickness was probably an answer to some of my prayers. Unable to work – thank You, Lord, for extra rest. Very little appetite – thanks, Lord, for a chance to re-set my carb-o-meter. Can't go to events – thank You Lord for more time alone to feed my soul [see last week's post]. As I awoke each day, I felt a little better, and thanked the Lord that I wasn't getting worse! How blessed I am to enjoy good health most of the time, unlike others I know who suffer the majority of their days in unrelenting pain. Whether we are sick or healthy, God must have a reason. Every true believer will suffer some hardship or loss, and also know some true blessing and joy. Either way, am I blessing the Lord at all times? Is His praise continually in my mouth? Are we magnifying the Lord and exalting His name together?

Thinking about these things, and thanking the Lord.

God is faithful, so keep on thanking,

j

PS Thanks to Kathy Kuhl for recommending Nancy Leigh DeMoss with Lawrence Kimbrough, Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 2009.