Most of us can rattle off our list of troubles faster than the alphabet: disappointments, fears, habitual sins, relational conflicts. This is the same list that scrolls across our eyelids each night and greets us like a buzzing mosquito in the morning. It’s just there.
But do you know what else is there for those who are in Christ? A list of breathtaking and incalculable blessings, if we just choose to see it. Let’s review that happy list for a change.
1. You have a clean slate.
Yes, you are a sorry sinner, forever falling short. Me too. But Christ has made your scarlet sins as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). So let’s exult with Horatio Spafford, “My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! / My sin, not in part but the whole / Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more / Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul!
2. The Lord sees and knows.
God named each star and knows each sparrow (Psalm 147:4, Matthew 10:29). He’s blanketed the sky with stars and dotted the air with birds so that everywhere you look, you will remember his attentive care lavished on all he has made, especially humans created in his image. You are not overlooked.
3. Artwork surrounds you.
I dare you to find a museum that exhibits sunrises, fluttering leaves, and crashing waves. No human artistry compares with God’s. Though fallen, his creation still blazes with glory, and he’s placed us within it to remind us of him. Enjoy the art and praise the artist.
4. You don’t have to figure it out.
God is weaving every crushed dream and tangled situation into a blanket called Good (Romans 8:28). In his lovingkindness, he will work the unworkable and solve the unsolvable until every frayed thread is beautified. Leave it to him.
5. A new body is on its way.
Not only has he intricately formed our earthly bodies before birth (Psalm 139:15), but God will someday “transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). The aches, diseases, cellulite, saggy baggy elephant skin? It’s all temporary. The countdown is on.
6. You belong.
An outpost of heaven, the church is meant to be your home. You may have been alone in the world, but not anymore. Brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers invite you to join them as they wait for the Bridegroom. Don’t go to church; come to church.
7. Your creator is available to talk, now.
Is something on your mind? Is a question, concern, worry, or decision blinking neon orange in your brain? Bring it to God. Not only will he speak to you in his Word by the power of his Spirit, but he’ll listen as you open up to him and will interpret your prayers with divine knowledge. Feel too guilty? Go back to number one.
Have a beautiful day in the glory of the gospel!
