Hello all,
What wonderful program last week. God is indeed good!
Sometimes being blessed beyond what we understand doesn't tend to produce a grateful spirit. Sometimes having just enough to scrape by until payday doesn't tend to produce a grateful spirit.
Have you experienced something of the best this world has to offer? You went to Hawaii or that "Special place" once on vacation, so now it’s harder for you to enjoy the state park five miles from your house. You've eaten a steak at Outback, so it’s harder to be thankful for a meal at your own dining room table. You've driven a Cadillac, so now you can't be as content with your used Ford mini-van. You've cheered for a national champion in sports, so now it’s difficult to be grateful when your local High School’s football or baseball team has a good season but in spite of their best effort, coaching, and planning doesn't take home the title.
Generally speaking, the more we have, the more we experience, the more we see God at work, the less grateful we are. In the same way when things do not work out exactly as we planned, our expectations are not met or someone disappoints us, the less grateful we are. Our thanks and praise to God should be the same either way. We are all blessed in one way or another. Whether we think we are blessed or poor, the more thankful we should be. But it usually doesn't work that way, does it?
The Apostle Paul once prayed that he be satisfied in all situations. "Not that I was ever in need, for I've learned how to be content with whatever I have." (Philippians 4:11 NLT) This means good and bad. A wise man prayed, "First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name." (Proverbs 30:8-9 NLT). It is a rare person who, when his cup frequently runs over or when it is either half-full or half-empty, can give thanks to God instead of complaining about the limited size of his cup. Deaf Café is God’s program. Deaf Café is God’s success. God puts together the program. God brings the people. God is indeed good all the time. All the time God is good.