Last week the ladies of our church got together for a fellowship meal. After a busy year, it was a nice evening of fellowship and a great time to reconnect with each other. I hope this next year we are able to find a way to do this more often.
Our Pastor's wife showed us a passage in the Bible that I know I've read before, but because it starts with a command to the rich, I have glossed over it. I Timothy 6:17 says "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." As I mentioned, the first part says that this is a command to the rich, and now that I think about it, I am rich. My bank account may not say that, but compared to 95% of the people in this world, I am well off, and once you count in the many non-money related things in my life (health, family, talent, etc.) I am truly rich.
So this passage is for me, and actually it's for everyone, because the next part says for us not to put our hope in wealth which is so uncertain, but to put our hope in God. With our economy right now, I don't think I need to expound much on the uncertainty of wealth, but I will say that God is VERY certain. He is never changing, never has, never will. We can ALWAYS count on him and rely on him.
These things I know, and have not doubted (well, not usually, anyway), but it's the last part of the verse that I had never noticed before. It says to "put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." Do you see that? He doesn't just provide what we need to survive, but He provides that we might enjoy life. This was what our Pastor's wife brought up for us to think about. This isn't saying that our life should be a big party and we never do any work, but that God provided enjoyment and joy for us while we are working for Him. It could be something as simple as beautiful music to listen to while doing housework or a nice 74 degree day to do your gardening in. What are some other simple pleasures in life that God provides just for our enjoyment, things that we so often overlook in our day-to-day busyness, things that we should remember to be thankful for? Here's a brief list of some of the simple pleasures in my life this week:
temperatures in the 70s
eating muffins and drinking tea on the deck
listening to birds outside my window
having an office with an awesome view
hugs from my munchkin
free blackberries on our property
sleeping with the windows open
taking a nap
having two working vehicles
free flowers all over our property
This list could go on and on. How about you? What simple pleasures has God granted to you and have you remembered to take pleasure in them and thank Him for them?
No comments:
Post a Comment