“However you define the good life, every good thing on God’s green earth is a gift from a good God. The good life starts with good news called the gospel. Every other good thing is consecrated with thanksgiving. That is how we take things for gratitude rather than taking things for granted. . . . The inherent goodness of God’s creation . . . must be consecrated with gratitude.”- Mark Batterson
“Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”- 1 Timothy 4:4-5 (NIV)
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 7 of A Million Little Miracles as he underscores that followers of Jesus don’t believe in happily ever after. Rather, Christians believe in something bigger and better — happily forever after. Because, Mark believes, adding eternity to the equation reconciles bad things happening to good people.
Above all, Pastor Batterson stresses, God is bigger and better than the bad things you have experienced. Even though the author wishes this wasn’t the case, he affirms that grief had increased his capacity for joy. For meaning is found and forged in the crucible of pain and suffering. And, as Bob Dylan sang in Not Dark Yet, “Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain.”
Yet, whenever we face a problem, our primary prayer centers on asking God to change our circumstances. However, Mark counsels, sometimes God uses those very circumstances to change us!
But if our primary request fails to achieve our desired results, we opt for Plan B. We ask God to change others. After all, Mark quips, that is so much easier than changing ourselves.
In conclusion, Pastor Batterson advises:
“All of us are guilty of affective forecasting. It’s the phenomenon whereby we misjudge what will make us happy. It’s wanting the wrong thing for the right reason or wanting the right thing for the wrong reason. I sometimes refer to it as the when/then syndrome. . . . If you’re searching for some combination of circumstances to change your life, it’s a mirage. My advice? Enjoy the journey!”
Today’s question: How do you consecrate the inherent goodness of God’s creation? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Singing the praises of simple seeds”