The morning had been productive. I had gotten myself and the kids up and dressed, made sure everybody had breakfast, and gotten us out the door to the YMCA.
I’d also gotten in a good workout. Treadmill? Check. Lifting weights? Check. Drinking enough water? Check.
Now, we were home eating lunch. Ellie, six years old at the time, wanted to tell me about her morning. “At the Y,” she said, “there was this boy, and I kept having to tell the teacher that he was bothering me.”
From the chair next to her sister, three-year-old Lindsey piped up helpfully and earnestly, “Yeah, and I had to keep saving you.” She nodded for emphasis.
I was proud of Lindsey’s loving initiative toward her sister. Ellie didn’t seem as impressed as I was, but at least, she was polite. “Thank you for saving me,” Ellie said, “even if I didn’t notice.”
Ouch.
Ellie’s words made me cringe inside, not only because I was afraid Lindsey’s feelings would be hurt, but because I realized something.
You and I do the same thing to God on a regular basis.
We benefit from His help every single moment of our lives, yet most of the time, we’re oblivious to the fact that if it weren’t for Him, we wouldn’t even take our next breath. We don’t pay particular attention to God’s assistance unless it comes in the form of something miraculous or massive. When it’s “everyday” assistance, we pay it no more attention than we pay to the people who provide the electricity to our homes.
We simply expect His assistance to be there.
I wonder how God feels when we continually fail to acknowledge His interventions and provisions for us.
Even more than that, I wonder why He continues to provide for us when we take Him so much for granted.
On one hand, I know that He continues to sustain us because He loves us and because He has promised that He will. But from an earthly perspective, I simply can’t understand His ways.
If Ellie never noticed Lindsey’s assistance and rarely thanked her, or only mumbled obligatory, meaningless thank-you’s right before she took advantage of what Lindsey had done for her, I’m certain Lindsey would be tempted to stop helping. I know I would, and I’m an adult.
But despite the fact that we rarely give God the appreciation He deserves, He continues to lavish His love and care upon us.
That is truly amazing.
How God must long to see His children become aware of all He does for them and to hear them rise up in gratitude.
This week, let’s ask God to open the eyes of our hearts to see everything He does for us. As we move through our days, may He cause us to realize how much we need Him every moment.
When He has been gracious to do that, may we realize how incredibly much He has done for us already and is continuing to do every second. May we repent of every single time we failed to recognize His hand or took it for granted.
And just as our hearts are glad when our children express their thanks to us, may we bring joy the Father’s heart by pouring out our gratitude from hearts that overflow.
John 1:16—From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
Hebrews 13:15—Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.