Hey, friends. Which of you remember this good ol’ hymn? It’s a childhood favorite of mine, and I’m bookmarking this particular YouTube video to rewatch a zillion times, because it gets my heart jumping for joy in our Lord Jesus.
This past week, I paid extra close attention to the little (and big) blessings God was pouring into my life. For example…
- spending quality time with my dad while gallivanting all over DFW to track down items for home projects
- hearing the best sermon I’ve ever heard — while in the car, no less! (It was a sermon by David Jeremiah on “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9 NKJ), and it left me with all kinds of good chills. God is so good!)
- gaining a new student to tutor for the remainder of the summer session
- grace-giving friends when I’m behind schedule on a certain something or three (that includes you lovely reader friends here on Writing to Inspire, as y’all know I’ve missed weeks here and there — Thank you for your grace and patience!)
- time to read books in several formats (paperback, ebook, and audio)
- good food even when I didn’t have a good appetite last week
- medicinal herbs that help with menstrual cramps
- the ability to breathe the air God gives
- the fact that I’m alive
- choosing to obey God instead of rebel against Him
There were a couple of days that I felt disappointed in myself, because I didn’t accomplish all I wanted to. At those moments, I was tearful and confused and a little brain-foggy, but I worked hard to shove my thoughts into prayer for help to overcome those odd-feeling times. Even in those hard-moment days, and probably due to that struggle toward prayer, there were plenty of things to be grateful for. One thing in particular was that God helped me refocus those negative thoughts on a verse in Genesis that has meant the world to me lately:
“If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted?”
Genesis 4:7 (in part)
He helped me pray when all I thought I could do was cry. He blessed my prayers by pressing into my heart a sense of His presence. He granted me hope because of the above verse and the fact that His mercy is new every single morning. He uplifted my heart by reminding me that He sees my attempts to do the right thing just as well as He sees when I accomplish the right thing.
Y’all, please hear this and let it soak in: God sees you when you even try to do the next right thing to follow Him. He knows we will sometimes struggle in this life, because He knows He created humans. The flesh of humanity is weak, but, y’all. That’s where He shines the brightest. That’s where He rolls up His sleeves and gets His hands in the clay that is our hearts. Y’all, that’s where God gets to work crafting in us the vessels He needs to keep spreading His good Gospel around and around and around this beautiful yet troubled globe we live on.
Keep taking that next right step, doing that next right thing. God is good, my friends. Just look around — search far and wide, near and deep — and see for yourself!
Which verse are you focusing on this week?
What are some of the blessings you’re counting?
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