I'm Grateful

I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for health. I'm not talking about the health I work to maintain. I'm talking about the health that has clearly been handed to me by God. Most of my life I've been in good health, sick very little, no big health issues. You might argue that some of your health is your doing, but I'm grateful for the majority of my health that is simply a gift from God.

I'm grateful for my life. That would include a family and friends whom I love and who are happy to have me in their "thoughts and prayers". I'm grateful for those. That would include a job that I have no business having -- an obvious gift from God -- that pays the bills and keeps us fed and takes care of my family and all that. I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful to be in America. Not something I arranged. But I appreciate the freedom and opportunities and if I fail to be grateful for this I will end up ungrateful, entitled, arrogant and miserable. So I'm grateful that God put me here.

I'm grateful for the little things like clean water and hot water when I need a shower, for air to breathe and sunshine to enjoy, for skills and talents I've been given by God. I'm grateful for comfortable shoes and the ability to fix myself a sandwich. I'm grateful for a Bible I can read and books readily available ... and the simple ability to read.

I'm grateful simultaneously, for not getting what I have earned and for getting what I have not earned. I have not earned God's favor, but He gives grace -- unmerited favor -- freely. I have earned God's wrath, but He gives mercy -- withholding the punishment I justly deserve.

I'm grateful for Christ. I have amassed a great sum of offenses to the Most High and God has laid it on Him. My entire "debit" column has been wiped out, past, present, and future. Besides the clean slate, I have also been given the righteousness of Christ, completely filling my "righteousness deficiency". Because of Jesus, all the places I did the wrong thing are erased and all the places I failed to do the right thing are credited to me as done. I have no idea how to express my gratitude for that.

I'm grateful. Really grateful. Grateful to God.