I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
- Philippians 4:12-13
Charlene here - I hope your week has been a happy one and that practicing gratitude has begun to generate some true joy in your life.
Gratitude - intentional gratitude - is crucial. Practicing gratitude is a discipline. At least, it has proved to be one to me. I’ve found that when done improperly, practicing gratitude can easily turn into pretending gratitude. Instead of focusing on what we can be grateful for, we weirdly turn it into ignoring what we definitely are not grateful for. In other words, we fake it.
But you can’t fake joy…at least, not always convincingly. Isn’t that the reason the Church has so often come under fire? For being “fake” or hypocritical?
As a young Christian new to the faith, I was taught that good Christians behaved a certain way, and then I was compared to other believers, as if becoming more like Christ was supposed to happen instantaneously. So sometimes - many times - I played up those approved behaviors, and tried to hide any unsavory ones until I could “fix it.”
And eventually, when I finally broke down and confessed my most shameful sins to my pastor, I was told to keep my head down and never bring it up again. That God forgave me and my pastor forgave me, but no one else had to know. Because if they knew, they’d question my serving at the church, question my salvation. It took me a long time to let go of those toxic beliefs.
I think we need a different standard of evaluation. Instead of focusing on the external (Christians act like this), let’s look at the internal (Christians believe this). Definitely more difficult, since you’d actually have to get to know someone before you could pass judgment, but judgment belongs to Christ anyway (so we shouldn’t be passing judgment in the first place).
I’ve found that focusing on the internal, focusing on what I believe, makes it much easier to be grateful, for both the good and the bad. l am grateful for my disability that keeps me at home, because I get to spend that much more time with my husband. And let’s be honest, not working can be real nice if you let it… although to be honest, most of my time is spent trying to get healthier or stay as pain-free as possible.
Friend, I know I’ve rambled a bit today, but my deepest hope is that you feel free from the expectations of the world, from influences both within and without the Church. All that matters is that you know that God loves you, that He knows you, and that He paid for your sins so you could spend eternity - joyfully - with Him.
