Discovering God's Gifts for Us

Doesn’t this little church look so quaint? My spirit longs for the simple things. A quiet, sun drenched morning, a song of the robin’s jubilee… that solemn, reverent moment as you watch the sun melt into the waters of the ocean. If you think about it, and if you are the sort of person to appreciate such things, we can find more than enough joy and beauty simply with things God has given us. And if you embrace what treasures God really gives us, you will realize it far outweighs the second rate, artificial, empty satisfaction we get ourselves by our own hands. 

When we do God’s will he gives us his spirit…his spirit to love, his spirit of unexplainable peace, his spirit of unending joy—the resolution to be strong and powerful, the quietude to be wise and still, the grace to forgive others, the heart of generosity, and the purity to see him everywhere. 

I understand that for some these gifts are harder to obtain. It took me nearly 25 years to find them. But now that I have touched the outskirts of his great and vast array of treasures, I can very easily say that life can be ten millions times more happy, more enjoyable; filled with more deep laughs, filled with more starry-eyes, filled with more contented sighs.

I promise you. 

If you don’t feel this way, I would strongly suggest drawing closer to God. Read his word, pray more often, remove unnecessary clutter from your life, get rid of peace-draining people and activities, slow down, do not try too hard, and always, always have faith. Finding the gifts of God isn’t something you obtain with hard work, lots of scripture reading, and dutiful prayers. It is given to you, through grace, by God. It is exactly what it is: a gift.

Hang in there when dark days seem unending. It will get better. The sun will rise again. How do I know? It has always gotten better for me. I went through the pain of realizing my estranged 
father might not make it to heaven. But God helped me through. I struggled through the confusion of not knowing what to do with my life. But God gave me direction. I had my heartbroken in the most painful way this past spring. But God is continually helping me to heal each day. And I am fully confident that he carries us through our hurts and aches of this life. He may not give us what we want, but he always gives us what is right. Of course, I did not want to go through the emotional agony of being rejected last spring, but I feel wiser, stronger, and so much closer to God because of it. God does not want us to hurt, but, living in a fallen world, if we must walk through a valley he can use it to either teach us a lesson or help us grow closer to him. God doesn’t waste any circumstances in our lives, but rather he uses all of them for good!

So hang in there. God longs to share his perfect gifts with you. He longs for you to be happy in this life.  And I promise, it will get better!

"The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever." Is. 32:17

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30