You Might THINK You Want It ....

Our pastor did a great sermon this morning on a subject that I know I personally often need to be reminded of and reeducated about, coveting. I am very pleased with what I have been given in life and I know that I have been blessed with so much, but I think it's just human nature to sometimes get caught into the whirlwind of "I wish we had that." Since becoming a blogger, I know that it is especially easy to find yourself coveting what others have in the world of blogging, as lots of bloggers paint such intimate portraits of their lives, family, and what they have. The question is though, what are they leaving out of those blogs? You don't ever really know what a person or persons had to go through to get to where they are, nor how they got what they have.

I can tell you so many stories of people I have met throughout the years that I would look at and say "I surely hope that I'm blessed like that one day," having absolutely no clue what it was that I was truly asking for. But, God reveals things to you in due time. It never failed that I would come to see the truth behind what it was I thought that I wanted so badly. Whether it was that couple who I always thought was so great together, but I came to find out about the abuse that was going on in their relationship, or the person who "had it all" and it turned out that to get it all, they were waddling in a pool of debt, the truth always revealed itself.

Our pastor spoke today of how often times, God will put you through tests to see if you will stand firm in him or attempt to do things in your own way. For example, lets say you are in need of a new vehicle. Well Joe at work just got a new car, your best friend Tracy just got a new car, and it seems that everyone around you is getting new vehicles except you, the one who truly needs one, because you just can't afford it right now. Are you going to take your last dime and get a new car, knowing that it is going to put you in debt and cause financial troubles, or are you going to wait on the Lord and let him bless you with that vehicle in his own time? To rephrase that, is your faith in God strong enough for you to trust and wait on him to bless you with what you need? It's so easy to see and want and go get, but it takes true faith to wait on God to give you whatever it is that you need or want.

It is so easy to be blinded by what others around you have, but when you do this, it can often times cause you to lose appreciation for what you have been given. I sometimes lose face of this, but reality always helps me to snap back into place. Think of it like this, if you can't appreciate what you have now, then what makes you think that you will appreciate something better?