Appreciating God's Gifts - Evangelical Caucus/Devotional

God has given us everything good to enjoy, including rain to make things grow, minerals to make the soil fertile, animals for food and clothing, and energy for industry and transportation. Everything we have is from Him, and we are to be thankful for it all.

Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matt. 7:11). James 1:17 says, "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow." Paul added, "Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer" (1 Tim. 4:4-5).

Sadly, unbelievers don't acknowledge God's goodness, though they benefit from it every day. They attribute His providential care to luck or fate and His gracious provisions to nature or false gods. They do not honor Him as God or give Him thanks (Rom. 1:21).

The great Puritan writer Thomas Watson wrote, "If all be a gift, see the odious ingratitude of men who sin against their giver! God feeds them, and they fight against him; he gives them bread, and they give him affronts. How unworthy is this! Should we not cry shame of him who had a friend always feeding him with money, and yet he should betray and injure him? Thus ungratefully do sinners deal with God; they not only forget his mercies, but abuse them. 'When I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery [Jer. 5:7].' Oh, how horrid is it to sin against a bountiful God!—to strike the hands that relieve us!" (The Lord's Prayer [London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1972], p. 197).

How sad to see such ingratitude, yet how thrilling to know that the infinite God cares for us and supplies our every need. Don't ever take His provisions for granted! Look to Him daily and receive His gifts with a thankful heart.

-Read Genesis 1:29-31, noting the variety of foods God created for your enjoyment.

God has blessed my life with a continuous sequence of wonderful bizarre blessings in my life, in spite of me.

We must be very careful that we do not claim ownership to the gifts, think we are someone special, and form an ego identity around the gift. It will expand our ego to the point where we have no room for God within us. Humility is a prerequisite to receiving the Holy Spirit.

There is a tendency to want to tell others about our special gift, to write books, and to think we have a message from God for everybody. I call this a “spiritual ego” as we start playing God. It’s a trap that leads to a very difficult experience. God’s gifts are not for us. They are for God to work through us. We never own the gift.

The other problem is that when God works through us and miracles start happening, especially when it save a person’s life, there is a temptation to swell with pride when we see the positive result. Then, a time arrives when we do the same thing and the person dies. If we take credit for the successes of using our gifts, then we must also take credit for any perceived failures. That burden is too great for any human to carry. When people start crying and thank you, immediately redirect their thanks toward God as that is who actually did the work.

Years ago, God gave me gifts that were too great. I was not ready for them as if I allowed myself to get angry I could harm other people and myself, just with my thoughts. I got on my knees and cried, praying to God to take these abilities away as they were too great and I was not ready for them. Thankfully, God took them away.

The closer you get to God, your thoughts begin to manifest. They physically manifest. Jesus warned us in John 14 that if we asked for something to happen in His name, it would happen. It does! But we must be very careful as we might get what we ask for, and it ends up being a curse rather than a blessing. In prayer, always qualify your request with “If it is God’s Will.”

Now, I try my best to do everything through prayer, and not of my own will. I have a prayer that I printed out and taped to my keyboard, just above the number keys so that I read it frequently, several times per day. The prayer is:

Lord, I give you permission to use me in any way that you desire today,
And, I ask you to give me your Grace to see your guidance,
So I can give you all the Glory.
Lord, I am your servant.
My Trust is in You God, I Love You.

PS. Then I often smile, feel God’s Love in me, and add “And please help me to stay out of your way. I tend to be a screw up.”

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