Be Thankful.

It's funny how God uses the most random situations to show you something. I was tired of the background on my computer, so I embarked on a quest to find a new one. I searched for "world" in Google Images and as I was browsing through, I found this one. It is a color coded map of the GDPs of every country in the world. Even though it was based on information from 2007, the point is still the same. America is by far one of the richest countries in the world. (By the standards set up by the world, at least.) And yet, we still complain. We complain when we don't get to eat where we want to. We complain when we don't get what we want for our birthdays or Christmas. We complain when taxes go up. We complain when it takes too long for our paychecks to get here. We complain when the service at a restaurant is a little slow. We complain when the check-out lines at the mall are too long.

"Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." --1 Timothy 6:6-10

"When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." --Luke 12:48

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." --Colossians 3:15

Let us understand that the peace of God is not an excuse for complacency. We should never be still...never comfortable...never satisfied with the amount of our selves, our time, our money, and our energy that we are investing in the work of the Lord. But more importantly that we are investing in getting to know the Lord. Only when our personal relationships with our Maker are on the right track will we be able to produce fruit and assist in the true work of the Kingdom. Sometimes the good things become the enemies of the best things. Don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that being busy doing the work of the church can suffice for your true calling. Don't settle. Always strive for more. Let me tell you: your biggest plans are drops in the bucket compared to what God has planned for you.

Trust. Follow. Believe. Know Him.