“When we choose to ‘make it easy’ by being grateful, we experience hope as we shift our perspective from an earthly one to a heavenly one.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 19, 2022
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1
As I write this in the Notes App on my iPhone, I’m standing in a sea of about three hundred people, crammed into a 160 square feet space while waiting for a train to take me to my concourse at the Denver airport.
But there are train troubles. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the train is experiencing delays.”
I’ve been waiting for over thirty minutes, and I wonder if I will make my flight. I just imagined running down the concourse and sliding onto the jetway just before the doors closed. I also just remembered something I heard on a podcast when a woman named Susie talked about “making things easy.”
For example, when you feel unhappy about a meeting you have to attend, you can “make it easy” by reminding yourself that you have a meeting to attend because you have a job. Or, if you get stuck in traffic, you can “make it easy” by reminding yourself you are stuck in traffic because you have a car to drive.
As I just thought about these wise words from Susie, I also thought about how I could make this inconvenient trainless experience easy by practicing a heart of gratitude.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
So there is an upside to this train delay situation after all. “I am stuck waiting for this train because I have the opportunity to fly, when just a short time ago, no one was traveling because of Covid.”
My spirit was immediately buoyed by these thoughts, I felt lighter and that’s when I decided to open up the Notes App on my phone and use this time to type out this devotional to you while surrounded by a sea of strangers. No time wasted. Opportunity grasped. Making it easy.
“Making it easy”—is a choice. It’s a decision to see things the way Jesus sees them.
He is never in despair.
He never wonders if things will work out.
He is never frustrated or stressed from unfortunate experiences.
When we choose to “make it easy” by being grateful, we experience hope as we shift our perspective from an earthly one to a heavenly one.
When Paul was in prison he focused on Christ’s perspective. “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13).
Today, are you stuck in traffic, stuck waiting to get married, stuck waiting on your spouse to change a bad habit, stuck looking for a new job, or stuck waiting for a train?
Make it easy, suffer joyfully by seeing your circumstance as he sees it…with hope!
Oh! Got to go! The train is here!
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1).
Prayer
Lord, please help me to give thanks in all circumstances and to ‘make it easy’ by seeing things as you see them and focusing on the good. Amen.
Application
How can you make a difficult circumstance easy today?
Related Reading
Psalm 35:18; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 147:7
Worship Resource
Chris Tomlin ft. Thomas Rhett & Florida Georgia Line: Thank You Lord
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