Ever feel like you just don’t get what you deserve? Striving day in and day out, we work extremely hard. We scrimp, save, coupon, lose sleep, work our fingers to the bone. No matter what we do we just can’t seem to get ahead. We want what we think we deserve. Society trains us to believe we are owed something in return for our hard work. The world has even trained some of us that we deserve rewards just for showing up or even just existing.
I’ll be honest with you and tell you what I think I deserve–absolutely nothing if benefit. Forsaken, tortured, spat upon, beaten, whipped, nailed and hung on a cross and crucified for my sins–that’s what I deserve. Over my lifetime, I’ve made decisions and spoken words that were contrary to the truth of God’s Word. I’ve made many mistakes and committed more sins against God than I can count. We all have.
Guess what? By the grace of God, I haven’t gotten what I know in my heart that I deserve. Jesus paid the debt I owed. My Lord didn’t deserve them yet endured all of those things for a wretch like me and for you. My God didn’t deserve to give up His Son for my sake. I don’t deserve to have the gift of life, my amazing husband, my four precious children which I call my “blessings”, health, material possessions, and freedom. Yet my Father has blessed me with all of these things.
Instead of sulking that we don’t have what someone else has, rather than pouting about not getting things we think we deserve, instead of sacrificing our souls and the souls of others to get what we want, let’s be thankful for what do have. Let’s seek the face of God, accept His Son, live for Him, accept His Word and obey it, and allow Him to change our hearts and daily mold us into His likeness, and TRUST HIM. Let’s accept His salvation so rich and free. Let’s share this salvation with our children, families, friends, and even strangers.
I know someone else who doesn’t get what they deserve either: God. He deserves to be loved, appreciated, worshipped and adored for what He has done for us. He deserves to hear our prayers of thankfulness, not our entitled whining and complaining. He doesn’t deserve to be compromised in any way and deserves for us to stand up for Him at all costs.
Now, I know we can never do anything to earn our way to Him. But shouldn’t knowing what He has done for us make us want to live a life of gratitude rather than whining? Doesn’t it make us love Him so much that we will gladly give our very lives for Him?
Do you know how very many completely destitute people there are in this world? There are so very many I’ve known and heard of that are living in their gratitude and their joy instead of wallowing in their lack. It’s time for we pick ourselves up and see our abundant blessings. Let’s dwell in our gratitude and joy this Thanksgiving season.