Day 1:
My carts overflow with abundance (Psalm 65:11)
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits… (Psalm 103:1-2).
Retrieving a half empty carton from the open refrigerator, I realized I would soon be out of a daily staple. I scanned the rest of the shelves, making a mental note of all the items I would need to put on my shopping list. I knew that if they were not on my list, I would forget about them the next time I was at the grocery store.
I moved on to a mental inventory of my pantry and garage stores, still intent on creating my shopping list. I wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything. All my adult life, I have "managed shopping" very carefully, aware of my "low grade anxiety" about running out of essentials.
I trace this back to childhood, when my mother, as a government employee, got paid once monthly and there always seemed to be "too much month left at the end of the money," (as one of my former pastors used to say). We never went hungry, but it was always a scramble to hold on to "soap bits" and the last squeeze of toothpaste!
Now years later, here I was, still seeking to outrun scarcity. But as I took stock, I realized I didn’t need much at all, and a trip to the grocery store could wait.
And then suddenly it struck me. How often I “take inventory” of my life in the same way I create my shopping list—with a total focus on what is lacking! I thought of all the times I cast my eyes over the cupboards, the pantries, the shelves of plenty in my life, noting only half-empty cartons and "diminished stores."
How often I carelessly overlook the stores of treasures, the stockpiles of riches in Christ, the overflowing cups of goodness and mercy and abundance! How often I nurture "low grade anxiety" or even full-blown worry about "running out", when God's word assures me that The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). How often I disregard Jesus' instruction-with-a-promise, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
I have often marveled at the people of Israel, brought out of Egypt by God's mighty hand, sustained by His power through the wilderness, witnessing His glory, His goodness, His might, His majesty. And yet, they doubted, and grumbled and complained, and "willfully put God to the test (Psalm 78:18). They disdained God's deliverance and shelter, and provision, choosing instead to elevate their pitiful past over His present goodness:
"We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic" (Numbers 11:5).
How often, I like them, am looking behind, or far ahead, when God delights in giving me His present goodness! How often I miss the manna that God sends today, because I am reaching back for soap bits and the last squeeze of toothpaste; or reaching forward into tomorrow's need! How often I disregard the voice of Jesus, reminding me, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34)!
Like the Israelites, I all too quickly overlook or forget the glory, the goodness, the might, the majesty of God. And just as I need a shopping list to make sure I don't forget "the essentials" I need a gratitude list to make sure I don't forget the benefits of a loving and generous God.
So as I stop and take stock of the overflowing stores of abundance in my life I raise my list heavenward, and sing with the psalmist:
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s… (Psalm 103:1-5).
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