The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 40:1-5, “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.”

There’s an old hymn that says,

“Count your blessings; name them one by one;
Count your blessings; see what God hath done;
Count your blessings; name them one by one;
And it will surprise you what the LORD has done.”

It’s so easy to lapse into self-pity. We look at what we lack and mourn. We focus on hope to the neglect of what we already possess. Watch the children! One has a delightful toy; the other does not. Yet, the one with the delightful toy focuses on the lesser toy, apparently because the other one has it. We look in amazement! Does the boy with the better toy not know that he has the better toy?

Ah, but it is demonstrated in adult life also. No matter what we have, we notice and long for what others have, despite the fact that what they have is often ultimately of lesser value. Call it “competition,” but it’s truly selfishness. It’s simply kids in an adult environment acting as they always have.

The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” If things were good enough for the Apostle Paul, they are certainly good enough for you and me.

Heartily in Christ,
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom