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grAttitude Adjustment
Jon BurgessThough Job's "friend" Eliphaz needed to adjust his thinking when it came to helping others through hard times, his thinking here is spot on! In fact, it's the battle of the mind that determines whether the battles of life are won or lost. Eliphaz points out that it makes no sense to treat God as if He is far off and hiding away when He is the one who is right here and filling our homes. How is it that we can swing so quickly from "God, I need you to never leave me" to "God, I need you to leave me alone"? Sometimes, the greatest battle is found in the time of greatest blessing. We tend to begin to take God for granted while becoming indifferent to His gifts as He lavishes them upon us. Like a child who has just opened all his Christmas gifts and complains that he still wants more our thoughts betrayour hearts in a similar fashion. We need to take Eliphaz's words to heart so that our thinking is renewed. Why do we complain when we should proclaim His goodness? Why do we distance ourselves from the God who seeks to draw us near? Why can't we enjoy what we have instead of envying that others have? We need gratitude to adjust our attitude towards the God who fills our lives with His goodness.
It was a hot and humid day at the end of August and I God was rearranging my thinking and breaking my heart. Through the powerful work of Compassion International and their partnership with the Promised Land Baptist church in outer Manila in the Philippines young lives were being changed for eternity and the cycle of poverty was being broken in the here and now. This church had done so much with so little and was so thankful for what they had. I was already feeling the conviction of the Lord and holding back the tears at the amazing hearts of faithfulness before me. Then I met Angel and shepushed me over the edge into a full-on grAttitudeAdjustment. She was one of the 75 students that attended the Promised Land Christian school. She had a friend of hers give me a hand-crafted metal bracelet. I tracked her down so I could thank her personally. She was a 12-year-old girl with glasses and a sweet smile. She told me her Dad had made that bracelet for her. I asked her if her Dad would get mad for giving it away. She told me no. I asked her why she wanted me to have it. She didn't even know me. She wanted to thank me for being there in the Philippines. When I asked her how I could pray for her she asked for prayer for her family. She didn't pray for a new dress or a different place to live. She prayed for her family. As I prayed I could barely hold back the tears. This girl, this Angel, was filled with gratitude and her attitude toward the future was one of hope. I had the joy of meeting her Dad and thanking him personally for the bracelet. Angel, her Dad, and at least one other family shared a small 20 ft. by 20 ft. cinder block house they called home. They didn't look dejected or rejected. They were thankful for what they had and showed it through the generosity of their daughter. She gave me the most precious thing she had, a gift handcrafted by her Father. She commissioned me, without knowing it, to go out and do the same.
Thank You, Lord for the grAttitudeAdjustment from Angel that day. I am in awe at what You have given me. Just as Angel did for me, let me spend my life giving away the time, talent, and treasure that my Heavenly Father has hand-crafted for me. Thank You for filling my home and our church home with Your presence! Thank You for the thousands who came last week to our Halftime Celebration and re-committed or committed for the first time to give towards the Future + Hope Building Initiative. Thank you for the hundreds of kids and families who came to our Trunk or Treat Outreach on Halloween this past Tuesday. Thank You that You are not far away but are near to each one of us!
