To Appreciate The Good

“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.’” (Revelation 19:6-7)

What do we need to appreciate the good? I mean, if something is good, of course we appreciate it, right? We are always thankful for the good stuff! But are we? Are we really appreciative of the good stuff, the good news that comes into our lives?

Think about the things you are really thankful for. Or think of the things you really think about being thankful for? Do you know what they likely have in common? They are not as frequent. You could even say they are more rare. Think about it. Are you thankful for the candy bar you just ate when you know there are enough for you to have one every day this week? Are you thankful for the $200 in clothes you just bought yourself, when you bought $150 worth last week?

It is just human nature that we seem to take for granted the things we get more frequently, and appreciate the things that happen less often. You are probably more likely to value a relationship when you waited on the person for an extended period of time as opposed to bouncing from relationship to relationship. This is just human nature.

God knows this. He created us. And that is why there are bad times, for us to appreciate the good. If there was no evil, you would not have sinned. And had we not sinned, we would not have needed Jesus to live a perfect life and die on the cross for our sins. If we did not go through the valleys, the mountains would not be nearly as special.

So you might ask the question, why do we have to go through such difficult times in life? First, because God wants you to grow from them. He wants to continue to mold you into the image of Jesus. But also so that you appreciate the good. What good have you taken for granted recently? Spend time reflecting today and thank God for the things we too often take for granted.