Our provisions should prompt us to praise but, sadly, we’ve grown so accustomed to our comfortable lives, we often don’t take note of our common blessings until our shelves aren’t stocked, or the rain doesn’t stop, or more dramatically, we lose our home… or our country. 

Last week my husband and three others handed out sandwiches and water in some of the worst areas of Paterson—sandwiches made in homes where sandwich-making is a common, thoughtless activity, in kitchens with running water that fills cups and washes hands. Food and water, provisions we barely consider.

I suspect those in refugee camps are keenly aware of provisions, thankful for a cup of rice, a bottle of water, someone’s discarded t-shirt, a night of safety, a pair of sandals, a ball for play, paper and pencil, a tarp in the rain.

Living in a new place has sensitized me to God’s extravagant provision and prompts praise daily, but I’m aware that familiarity has the power to dull my heart. Holy Spirit, keep me alert and thankful.

Let’s live with our eyes open to God’s gracious supply. Let’s pause and count our blessings. Add your praises to mine: a washer and dryer (on the main floor), air conditioning, an ensuite bathroom (!), recovery from illness, a heart beating in regular rhythm, space, birds at our feeders and deer crossing our yard, neighbors (near, but not too near), a great library, cupboards for dishes and filled with food, an attached garage, a front porch… Provisions that prompt praise!   

…Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind,
for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9

Pretty things delight us. They are mood enhancers, day brighteners, heart lifters. They reflect God’s creativity in their beauty and they make us glad.

Our recent move helped me choose between what is nice, satisfactory, or familiar and things that give me pleasure. Yes, I’m aware of their temporal nature, but I’m also mindful of the expansive range of creative gifts God gives us for our personal enjoyment.

Exodus 35 offers a beautiful description of God endowing humans with His creativity.

He chose Bezalel and “filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.” He filled others “with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers” (verses 30-34).

The pretty things around me prompt praise for the Creator who inspired the creation of their beauty. What pretty things lift your spirits? Is it time to refresh your surroundings? Feel free to share a picture… and praise the Lord!

Deep in my heart, I know that sense of purpose affects our praise. Describing that connection is a challenge. Maybe we can better understand it when we consider how lack of purpose affects us. During times we don’t see purpose—when disappointed, during a hard time, wondering why we’re alive—we are not in a place of praise but are down, even depressed.

Conversely, when we believe God has a plan and we are part of it, players in something bigger than us, our attitude is one of hope, expectation, and praise. Believing there’s a purpose for our pain and a reason for life’s disappointments, prompts praise and puts a song in our hearts. It’s why Jeremiah 29:11 is a favorite verse:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Purpose is a gift—not purpose in our actions as much as trusting the intentionality of God’s wisdom and ways and knowing we fit into His plan. God never does something for nothing – He always has a reason for His actions and it’s always good, whether or not we understand it.

Where are you today—Questioning? Despairing? Praising? Count on the God you cannot see, who has purposes you cannot understand, and possesses plans to give you hope and a future. Let that belief prompt you to praise.

Joshua: “Each of you is to take up a stone… 
to serve as a sign among you.
In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them.”
From Joshua 4:4-7

We’ve collected many stones of remembrance over the years. They weren’t gathered from the middle of the Jordan as the Israelites’ were, but from our personal river-crossing experiences, the times we stood still and witnessed God’s blessing. The stones remind us of His faithfulness and we tell the stories to our children and grandchildren.

One stone reminds us of the search for our first home. As young, new parents this decision was not easy—we prayed over and weighed each prospective opportunity. We were visiting relatives in North Carolina when my father called—he found a house for us. Dad rode by the property, drove directly to the realtor’s office, and made an offer without entering the house. His was the first offer—with eight buyers lined up behind him. If we had been home we would have been in line behind those eight buyers, still dithering about our decision. God knew. The house went on the market when we couldn’t get in His way. He provided—and we remember. We are still awed by His loving care.

Each of our stones represents a grace-filled place where God guided, provided, interrupted,  broke through, and manifested Himself in love, kindness, and mercy. The stones symbolize pivotal times in our lives—one for each birth, each marriage, each home, each church. They remind us of God’s unique creation of every child and grandchild, of His loving care in positioning us where He wants us, and His unique timing in putting us in a specific place at the right moment.

Where were you when God showed up with blessing, protection, or intervention? Share those places with your children and with others. Your story will remind your listeners of places where God has worked in their lives.