“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34
Documentaries are our go to source of “entertainment” on a lazy Friday evening. Snuggled up under a blanket with a hot bowl of buttery popcorn, learning about an array of different things, makes my nerd heart so happy. The other evening Loren and I were watching a series titled “Dicing with Death” (I am convinced every American should watch this series available on Amazon Prime). This series dives into transportation and culture across the world. Some people are hauling heavy loads in the thick of the rainforest on a washed out road, thousands of feet up a mountain. Some people are packed to 20+ capacity on a bus without air-conditioning; bumping along roads with deep gouges and excessive puddles. Some people are packed on a 104 year old boat (again past capacity), hoping they will make it to their destination; after all how long with a 104 year old boat last? Needless to say, we are extremely blessed here in America. So blessed. I watch these shows and my heart breaks for how so many people live everyday. The last show we watched went a little more in depth about life as a Tanzanian. At the end, they showed a family putting super on the table. Their comment was, “we have nothing to complain about, we have supper for tonight”.
What? Read that again. And again.
“We have nothing to complain about, we have supper for tonight.” Dear sweet family, I can come up with a list of things you can complain about. Through the eyes of American culture, I can come up with “LEGIT” reasons to complain.
- Your supper consists of small, tiny fish, cooked over a fire in your dirt floor “kitchen”
- Your means of transportation include a hot overstuffed bus, the bed of a truck that has broken down multiple times along the journey adding hours to your trip, a boat that is 104 years old and is at risk of breaking apart…
- You have no clue if you will have a meal tomorrow night
- Your government does not care for your road situation, or your life really…
- You have no air condition, your house is a little hut.
- You have no running water.
- You face a constant bombardment of obstacles to living in the essentials of life we take for granted.
- The nearest hospital is over 100 miles away.
I can’t speak for every third world citizen, but I can say that family may have more of life figured out than I do. I complain about long lines at the checkout, traffic, kids that wake up too early, high taxes, repair costs on my van. How can I have so much and complain so much? My vision gets skewed and I complain more than someone who has so little. I have so much and so little to complain about, yet I complain. These people have so little– so much to complain about–but yet they didn’t complain. They were simply grateful.
Through God, we can adopt the same mentality. I was only able to see a snippet into that families life, but the thought that I worry so much and have so much, while they complain so little and have so little, really hit me. Instead of obsessing about comparing our lives to others whether it be here in America (or feeling bad about being so blessed when others wonder where their next meal will come from) we can simply confidently come boldly to God’s throne asking Him for grace to face whatever comes our way. We can ask Him for wisdom on how to steward what He has given us well. We can ask Him for guidance to live in today–not worrying about tomorrow. We can ask Him for help to face the trials of today–not tomorrow; knowing by His grace we will be strengthened for whatever comes. By His grace, we can say, I have nothing to complain about–no matter how justified it appears to culture. We can rest confidently in His grace instead of obsessive worry or grumpiness.
God will be there in our time of need. Whether that be a poverty stricken life or an abounding life filled with material comforts. God’s grace will carry us through anything we face.
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