"Just spend more time thinking about the good things in your life."
"Then, Job's friends encouraged him to search for the positives. He realized that he was blessed to still have his wife. He was thankful for the small blessings and it gave him great joy in his unfortunate circumstances." -- nowhere in the book of Job
I've been missing the point. I've been inundated with messages that focusing on the positives will fix the negatives, and when that hasn't been the case for me, I've become jaded. The negatives lately have so outbalanced the positives that I'm overwhelmed. But it was MY fault. I didn't understand. I believed the idea that if we accentuate the positives, we'll eliminate the negatives. I tried focusing on the good things.
And the bad things just kept piling up.
And I didn't get it.
Good things aren't the fix. Positive little things are still little things and little things rarely have power on their own.
... on their own.
And that's the point. If we think the power is in the little positives, we're doomed for a life of defeated discouragement. The power isn't in the little blessings.
A small shepherd boy defeats a giant. It's the stuff of fairy tales.
But it isn't a fable.
Over and over in the Bible, God takes little things and does big things with them. When I look at the good things in my life - the blessings, they are no match against some of the enormous evil things I'm facing right now. I have things for which I'm grateful, but even these beautiful, wonderful joys can't take away the heartache and sadness with which I struggle on a daily basis... this big, ugly, depressive monster. But that's not their job. When I expect these blessings to fix my pain, I'm putting way too much responsibility on things and people who weren't designed to do that. I'm placing more importance on the gift instead of the Giver.
My greatest moments of peace and joy come when I see these blessings as exactly what they are... reminders of the goodness and greatness of God. Just look back at the story of Job. He lost nearly everything. His story doesn't end in despair. In fact, even before God poured out blessings again, Job's mind had shifted. What caused that change in him? He was made aware of the might and power of the God he served. God shifted Job's eyes from his pitiful existence to excellence of the Creator. In one minute, Job was asking God for an attorney to plead his case to the Creator. He thought maybe God wasn't paying enough attention. Maybe God cared too little for him. But in the next moment, Job saw something few have seen. God showed up in a big way for Job. God showed Job just how little he was in the presence of God's glory.
As little as my blessings sometimes seem against the magnitude of my problems, I have to keep myself reminded of how small my problems are when set against the enormity of God and His goodness.
We're told in Scripture that God works all things together for our good (if we love Him and are called according to His purpose). God IS good. Goodness is His nature.
We live in a world touched by evil. You don't have to look hard to find someone suffering with physical illness that overwhelms them, or an attack on their mental health that threatens to cripple them, or a betrayal by someone they held close. Heartache and pain are everywhere and it's easy for them to fill our vision. And THIS is the point of gratitude.
We aren't to focus on the good things... we are meant to focus on the Giver of the good things. When our focus shifts from our problems to the One who gives us good, we are overwhelmed with the peace that passes understanding. A peace that doesn't make sense. A peace that comes from good - God's good. This is the gift of gratitude. This is the lesson gratitude teaches. Even in the midst of an evil world, we are reminded of the gift of good that God loves to give... that God is.
God is good.
"But as for me, God's presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge."
Psalm 73:28
I am ashamed that I have lost sight of this, in the middle of my circumstances. God has revealed His greatness to me today through the story of Job and I'm amazed that He cares for me. I know that the things that have broken my heart have also broken His. I know that He hurts for me. But I also know that what was meant for evil, God means for good. He can and He will accomplish good through this if I allow Him to do what is in His very nature.
Michael Card has a song that beautifully summarizes the story of Job. I'm going to end this post with the last words in that song:
I am unworthy.
How can I reply?
There's nothing that You cannot do.
You are the Storm that calmed my soul.
I place my hands over my mouth.
I place my hands over my mouth.
