I’ve started to read the Bible chronologically right now. It’s been a goal of mine for a long while to read the Bible from start to finish for the sake of soaking up the story line.
If you’re ever looking to do this for yourself then here’s my one tip: Google a chronological reading plan…or join us on The Bible Project challenge by clicking here.
You can start reading in Genesis and go all the way to the end but it is really cool to read the Bible in the order it all plays out.
At the end of May, I started in the book of Job. And I have no problem saying Job is a strange bit of reading. Here’s a man who was nearly the perfect man. He’s got a pretty good life and he loves God more than anything. Satan shows up at God’s house one day and basically says, “I’m prowling the earth, looking for good people to devour and take away from you.” And God, because He does things I will likely never understand, answers, “Have you noticed my guy Job? He’s pretty great. You should go for him.”
It’s a crazy book and I recommend reading it but I’m currently so blown away by Job and how he chooses to speak, even when the worst of the worst is happening to him.
The man praises God for all the awful stuff!
Mind you, Job proved himself to not be perfect. He actually says some really dicey things about God throughout the chapters of the book. But he does not deviate from the posture of continuing to thank God in the midst of a mud pit.
I’m like Job but minus the really, really hard stuff and minus the gratitude. I’m the woman who still forgets to say “thank you” when everything around me is really, really good. Have you ever been there before?
If I am not careful, daily life ceases to surprise me. I grow content to be stagnant. I stop thanking God in the midst of the mundane. So I ask myself a bigger question: if I cannot thank God when things are easy, how much harder will it be to thank God when it is hard?
Good things are happening every single day. They pass us by without us even realizing it. A lot of times, our focus is on whatever is coming “next” and we fail to see the beauty God has set before us for this day, this hour, this moment.
Just this morning I’ve experienced so much: another chance at life. A good cup of coffee. A chance to bond with my friend. A chance to move. A home that keeps me warm and safe. New opportunities on the horizon.
If I am not careful, I will consume all of this without ever murmuring a prayer or a response of gratitude.
Today I am urging all of us: let’s not go another minute or hour without stopping everything to be grateful.
Pause what you are doing. Think and reflect for a few seconds on the good stuff: Who do you love right now? How have you been blessed recently? Where do you see God moving?
There is so much to be thankful for even if we have to dig a bit deeper to find it especially in this season. And don’t be surprised if some of the hardest stuff in your life right now leads to the most thankfulness. If you’re going through the mud, you’re learning something crucial. You are improving. You are becoming someone different.
Praise God for that.
One Response
We have so much to Thank Him for. His mercies are new every morning. He always gives us a fresh start and a new beginning if we have messed up over and over again. So great is His faithfulness !