GIFTS

Last night we had the occurrence of the supermoon, the largest full moon to occur in 18 years. Many people were talking about it, news people reporting on it, bloggers writing about it. They talked about such things as, "a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than it has been in 18 years..." They gave specifics about the distance, how much larger it would appear, and how much brighter it would be. They were also quick to point out that it would not cause natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami waves. However, there was a major thing left out by most - who put the moon in the sky in the beginning, and who should be praised for it's existence.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. Genesis 1:14-19 NIV

So often, we can get distracted by "things" in this world, and can even be enticed into putting them ahead of God. When we go on trips and are out of town for the weekend, do we totally forget about gathering at a church to worship? Or if we get something huge in our lives, like a great new job or promotion, perhaps God is the last we would ever think of thanking or giving credit for it. There are also times when the gift itself becomes something that is worshipped. Have you ever heard someone say that when they are out in nature, they are worshipping? Are they actually worshipping the creator, or the things he created, like the sun and moon and stars, and the fun they are having?

And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 NIV

We forget who gave us these things and why. Some of these things we don't even recognize as gifts, but all of them can serve a purpose. Whether it is an object, or a situation, or an event in our lives, God can use them all and work through them. It may be hard to thank God for the difficult times, but even the hard things in life serve a purpose, whether it be to help us learn to lean on him more, or to give us a greater appreciation for the "good" things, or to teach us somelesson, or to allow us to be of help later to others in the same situation, etc. We can praise God for every situation, every moment of our life, if we can just keep our focus on Him. What a wonderful witness to the world!

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD. Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. Psalm 113: 1-3 NIV

Written by Jan Andersen