Better to have little honor and a servant than to have glory and no bread. Proverbs 12:9, TLV

Can a simple life be a rich life? Yes! It begins with gratitude. Gratitude for our families, our friends, our jobs, our homes. It’s noticing and remembering the blessings all around us. It’s being able to simply be without looking around us for confirmation. No fanfare for a job well done, just that knowing sense that we “done good.” Smiling and then moving on to our next job.

We’re talking about a steadfast life. A steadfast, balanced life will have high moments and low moments. They come as peaks and valleys in our journey. They are part of the adventure we live, but not where we remain.

When we step outside the balanced life our Heavenly Father has for us and seek after glory and rewards, we can lose the sense of gratitude. Our pursuits and priorities can become skewed. Why? Because too often when we seek affirmations and honor we become dissatisfied with the simple joys all around us. They aren’t enough when we compare them with the “glory” of accolades and popularity.

If we lose that grateful heart, it changes our relationship with our Father. He becomes our Santa Clause and not the Creator of the Universe to be honored. And, He is most certainly worthy of praise and gratitude.

Think More About It

Have you/or do you seek affirmation regularly? How does it make you feel?

Until tomorrow–LORD willing and the “criks” don’t rise, may we live the simple, steadfast life of gratitude, my friends.

Praying for Israel

O come, let us sing for joy to ADONAI [the LORD].
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.
For ADONAI is a great God
and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3, TLV

I learned recently that there is no specific word for gratitude in Hebrew. The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat ha’tov, which literally translates to: “recognizing the good.” Surely, for those beleaguered citizens of Israel, recognizing the “good” around them must be a challenge. Let’s pray today that they–especially our brothers and sisters in Messiah–as well as us seek to find the good in even the smallest ways. Amen? God bless you!