28 Days of Gratitude: Day 12
Scripture of the Day: “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Luke 5:30 NIV)
This complaint from the Pharisees and teachers of Jewish law was rooted in their belief that Jews should not associate with Gentiles or anyone considered a sinner, otherwise, that Jewish person became spiritually or ceremonially unclean.
Let’s give this a little context. The Roman government, which was hostile toward the Jews, was in power, and they had set up a system of taxation. Jewish tax collectors were contracted by the Roman government to pay a certain amount of taxes.
As long as the Jews honored their contract and paid the agreed upon amount of taxes to the government, these tax collectors were free to tax local Jewish citizens as much as they wanted to tax them. Any money they collected in excess of the amount they owed the government was theirs to keep. And since it was basically an unregulated system, tax collectors took advantage of their own people to make themselves wealthy. They were considered the scum of the earth, crooks, and traitors.
WHAT WAS JESUS DOING?
In light of this, it was shocking and scandalous to the religious Jews to see what was happening in Luke 5:27-32. Jesus called Levi—who is also known as Matthew—to be His disciple. Before he began following Jesus, Levi was a tax collector for the Roman government, and he was considered a no good scoundrel. Still, Jesus went to his house and ate with him and other tax collectors.
The religious folks were up in arms. What was Jesus doing? How could Jesus and His disciples associate with such people? This was disgraceful in their eyes.
Have you ever wondered, what is God doing? Has He ever done something you didn’t understand or agree with? Did He allow something to happen, and you couldn’t make sense of it in your mind? Has God’s plan ever unfolded in a way you didn’t like?
If so, how did you respond? Did you accept that He’s sovereign and knows what He’s doing? Did you question Him? Did you complain? Get upset? Sulk? Worry? Stress over it? What did you do?
THINGS DON’T GO OUR WAY
Jesus answered the complaints of the Jewish elite in verses 31-32, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Things didn’t go their way, and Jesus didn’t give them the answer they were expecting. Still today, things do not go our way, and the Lord does not always give us the answer we are expecting.
And yet, He does not cease to be God. He does not cease to be good. He does not cease to be perfect. He does not cease to be our shepherd. He does not cease to be worthy of thanksgiving. He does not cease to love us. He does not cease to be all-wise and all-knowing.
From now until Jesus returns, God will make moves that don’t fit His servants’ expectations. It is so important to be aware of this truth, and remind yourself of it often. If you don’t, you will be emotionally rattled, mentally baffled, and spiritually torn.
You won’t see the beauty of God’s plan, because you will be too busy complaining like the religious folks were when Jesus walked the earth. If you want to remain grateful, content, and full of faith when God doesn’t make any sense to you, internalize the words of the psalmist in Psalm 31:14.
He said, “But I trust in you, LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’"
When I don’t understand, I trust You Lord.
When I’m uncomfortable, I trust You Lord.
When I’m inconvenienced, I trust You Lord.
When I’m disappointed, I trust You Lord.
And, I thank You Lord.
BE THANKFUL FOR SPOILED PLANS
When you serve God, expect Him to spoil your plans and implement His. He does things His way, so be thankful anyway.
Quick story. Yesterday, the refrigerator at home in the kitchen conked out. The night before, my daughter Kaiah pointed out that it was leaking, and I thought that was odd. My husband Kenya planned to address the issue the next day.
Well, by the time the next day rolled around, things had gotten worse.
The fridge wasn’t working at all. As it turns out, our refrigerator compressor is broken. Before diagnosing the problem, however, I was pretty sure we had an issue when I opened the fridge and freezer, and they both felt warm. Everything had thawed.
Although this was inconvenient, the first thing I thought about was this 28 Days of Gratitude blog series. Yesterday’s journal exercise was to take something negative, and flip it into a positive, and I put that exercise into practice in real life. As I stood in front of our broken refrigerator, instead of complaining, I thanked God we had the means to replace the fridge and the spoiled food inside.
When our plans get spoiled like that food in the fridge, we can make a choice to be grateful, trust God, and expect Him to do good things.
My prayer is that you will make that choice.
JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT
In your journal today, write down:
One time God spoiled your plans, and it turned out good.
One way God helps you when He strips you of control.
One time God showed you that His way is better than yours.
One thing God has done for you today.
One way God blessed you in the midst of a troubling circumstance.
Now, let’s pray.
God, You are all-wise, and Your way is always right. Thank You for the beautiful plans You have for my life. Even though I can’t see the full picture, I am grateful, and I trust You. Please help me to be more flexible, and keep in mind that You are faithfully leading me to a place of blessings and favor. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
What Is the 28 Days of Gratitude Series Based On?
This gratitude series is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT, which says, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
In my time spent with the Lord, He dealt with me about how we have a tendency to focus on our issues, problems, challenges, and difficulties, but we are not necessarily intentional about focusing on His goodness. Failing to meditate on His works forces us into a cycle of complaining and blinds us to the amazing ways He reveals Himself on a daily basis. In all circumstances, let us be more grateful.
What do I need to participate?
To participate in this series, you will need a notebook and a journal, because it requires writing some things down. In whatever journal you choose—and it doesn’t need to be anything fancy—daily, you will write down the Scripture of the day.
The featured verse will highlight a complaint from the Bible to help you see that, throughout history, others have struggled just as you do. Yet, God desires that we be grateful. In your journal, I would ask that you write the verse you see featured on the Daily Cup blog each morning, then jot down 5 things for which you are grateful.
5 is the number of grace, so you will be focusing on the grace of God and how His mercy has been evident in your life, even during rough times. At the end of each post, 5 suggested thing to write about are listed.
