Surveys are
interesting learning tools. They are a
way of collecting information
from different people.
Have you ever conducted your own personal survey without
telling anyone? I
have! The results were quite
interesting.
My survey question
is this: How do people respond when I answer their question,
“How are you today?” by saying, “I am GREAT!” Mostly when I answer that question, I
say, “Good” or “Fine”.
It felt “outside the box” to respond with GREAT!
There were two
common reactions. Mostly people raised
their eyebrows and smiled.
A few people would ask me why I was feeling so great. One person responded with this
statement, “You really shouldn’t lie. No one can be that great all the time!”
You really
shouldn’t lie. No one can be that
great! This response stopped me for a
short time. I
questioned myself. Am I lying? Am I really great? Where do I go for
answers to my questions?
That is right, The Bible.
This is what I
found in I Thessalonians 5:16-18.
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without
ceasing. In every
thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you.” Saying I am
great is a way for me to say I am thankful for the blessings God has
given me. It is
saying I am thankful for the everyday miracles.
I have an awesome
husband and three wonderful kids, a home, a church family,
an amazing business, and the
list continues.
Have you ever
just jotted down in your journal 5 blessings that happened every day?
Just five things you are thankful for. Over the course of a month it adds up to be
many
blessings to give God the glory for. Being grateful helps us to develop humility
and
appreciate the life God has given us.
Philippians 4:4
says to “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.” It is
easy to rejoice in the good times. What about the difficult times? Do we have to rejoice?
Can we have a pity party instead? How does the song go? “It’s my party and I will cry if
I want to!” This is
not God’s will for our lives.
I recall an ice
storm that occurred in 2007. We were
without electricity for
approximately 10 days.
Ashamedly, I had a pity party for just about the whole time. It
was not healthy for me mentally. I had forgotten all the Lord had done for
me. I have a
Savior, friends and family who love me. The Lord was taking care of me.
In the story of
David and Goliath we read about the Philistines gathering armies to
fight Israel
said, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant
will go and fight with this
Philistine.” (I Samuel 17:32). David didn’t stop to have a pity party.
What did David
do? He acted in faith and trusted God to
be in control. The story
goes on to say,
“David
said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear,
and
with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God
of the
armies of Israel
thee
into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I
will
give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the
air,
and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is
a
God in Israel
and spear; for the battle is the
Lord’s and he will give you into our hands.”
(I
Samuel 45-37).
The Bible does not say to be grateful and rejoice only when
your life is going as planned.
The Bible tells us to rejoice everyday. I can respond with I am great in the good
times
and the difficult times.
I am not lying.
Oh, by the way
the person who said I was lying is my one and only younger brother. I
can take him on any ol’ day!
Every time he asks me, “How are you doing, Sis?” I say
any one of these options.
I am great, fantastic, terrific, super, wonderful, and so on,
because I am. And he
is, too. My brother just doesn’t realize
it yet. He is like I was
back during the ice storm of 2007. He is God’s child and God is taking care of
him.
I have a
wonderful Savior, family, friends, and I am trusting God to do what is best for
me. I am GREAT!
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