One of my resolutions for 2017 was to try and listen to a Christian podcast every.single.day. I did pretty well for the first six months. I would put on a podcast while I made dinner and get 20 minutes of spiritual input in my day and learn oh-so-much from it.
In the last five months, I haven’t been quite so consistent! I’ve continued to get some time in God’s word and spiritual input from the amazing First 5 app for Christian women, but the podcasts have been intermittent. Recently, however, I’ve got back into the swing of it. And one podcast in particular never ever fails to teach me something new. It challenges me on levels I didn’t even know needed challenging.
Rick Warren’s Daily Hope podcast is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. If you haven’t come across it before – click here and go have a listen. It’s brilliant.
But here’s the thing. Rick Warren doesn’t pull any punches. He is the most challenging Christian speaker I have ever heard. He is not afraid to point out the flaws or the superficiality or the small things in our lives as Christians that need challenging.
I have been struggling with a chronic health issue for many years now, but it has been far worse in the last year. And the pain, fatigue and problems it creates in my day-to-day life have led to spiritual grumbling. To complaints. To ungratefulness. It’s not that God doesn’t appreciate honesty. But I’ve tended to let it spiral more than it needs to.
Today, I tuned in to Rick Warren’s Daily Hope podcast, and it was like he was speaking directly to me. Tackling the book of Habbakuk, he spoke of Habbakuk’s gratitude in the face of unsurmountable problems and despair.
Pastor Rick’s response to this verse spoke to my very soul:
“Can you thank God when life stinks? That’s the test of whether you are a shallow Christian or a deep one.”
Wow. Talk about being brutally honest.
“That’s the test of whether you are a shallow Christian or a deep one.”
Our life, our relationships, our faith… all go through seasons. Sometimes it is spring or summer: fresh, new, exciting, easy, life-giving. Sometimes we find ourselves in the autumn and winter: difficult, cold, burdened, tired.
Yet still, there is hope. Still there is joy to be found.
Summer will come again.
And God remains.
In what, on the surface, should have been one of the darkest times of my life, in the midst of cancer, I found a joy I have never quite been able to describe. Joy, peace, hope. I spent a lot of time in prayer. Many others prayed for me and shared their Words and prayers with me. I felt God’s presence with me then more than I ever had before or ever have since.
There is no reason why we cannot find joy in the midst of suffering. The way to it is simple. Like Habbakuk, we raise our arms and praise God.
Studies (religious and secular) show us over and over that practising gratitude and kindness in our day-to-day life leads us to be happier, healthier individuals. Grateful people are often more joyful, more successful and more peaceful.
This is no coincidence.
Thanksgiving Day may be over for another year, but let’s carry that grateful spirit with us at all times of the year. Let’s raise our arms and say “thank you.”
It may bring you more than you could possibly imagine.
