"Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow . . ."

In this world today, it is very hard not to concentrate on the negative. Just watching the nightly news gives you a negative impression of our world. Most all that is reported on are fires, murders, wars, bombs and natural disasters. Yet there are so many good things going on in our world and especially in America, but they are overshadowed by the negative. Therefore, we have to make a conscious effort to dwell on the good things in our lives. It is especially difficult to dwell on the good things when you are going through a trying situation, but these are the times when we need to do this the most. Every day when you get out of bed, you are faced with a choice whether to dwell on the good things in your life or the bad things. Satan continually throws these bad things at us all day long, but God requires us to resist this temptation and find a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13) which He provides for us in several different verses of the Bible. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to, “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” So, lets say that you and your husband had a fight about some financial struggles you are having, Satan wants to throw these thoughts into your head constantly to make you more angry and to keep you from doing what God wants you to do today to further His kingdom. So, when those thoughts pop into your head, you have to make the choice to stop thinking about this negative situation. This is assuming that you have already taken the whole situation and given it to God in prayer. After you have let God have control of the situation, you do not need to be constantly thinking, analyzing and dwelling on the subject. So, you take hold of the thought and say to yourself you are not going to dwell on this any longer. Then you must replace it with things found in Philippians 4:8, things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Psalm 77:11-12 reveals to us what fits that description. “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”
According to the Bible, we are to think about all the good things God has done for us and all the blessings we have received from Him. If you are having financial struggles as my example states, you may be tempted to look at your neighbors and all the things they have and you don’t. But if you think about someone living in Guatemala where some people do not even have running water, you should have no problem realizing how many blessings you really do have. Every single American is truly blessed. Satan wants us to look at every one and think about all the things that they have that we don’t and he is winning this battle. We are so materialistic, thinking that we just cannot survive without a dishwasher (now don’t get me wrong, I love having a dishwasher) or a two-car garage, that we overlook how truly blessed we are in regards to most other countries in the world.
Then there are the situations that are bothersome to us and we can’t really do anything about. I have a friend with two small children who is forced to work because her husband left her, but she would rather stay home with her kids. She could become bitter because she has to work. But she is doing everything she can to make life normal and structured for her children. Just trying to make every day normal can help immensely. My sister-in-law was having some physical problems where her doctor could not figure out what was wrong with her. She had a million blood tests and possibilities of what could be wrong with her. Instead of worrying about things, she told me that she was just trying to go to work every day and make life as normal as possible. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We have to let God take control of our lives and when we let him take care of it, there is nothing to worry about. Whatever God allows to happen is for the best. So, whenever you are upset or starting to worry about something, remember all the good things God has done. Last night I was laying in bed thinking about a million things. I didn’t know when sleep was ever going to come. Then I remembered to think of the good things God has done for me. I started listing off every good thing I could think of in my entire life. A peaceful sleep came to me pretty quickly after that and I know that God will be faithful to you too. Like the words of the song say, “He has done great things. He has done great things. He has done great things. Bless His holy name.” Bless God and you will be blessed.