What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Believe it or not, this post is about Thankfulness. Just how, I’ll get to in a moment.

My wife and I were watching the TV from our DVR, getting caught up on this new series on the History Channel, called The Bible. I’m grateful it’s getting such incredible ratings, trying to grade it on a curve for accuracy. I realize they are covering a lot of ground in a short time.

In watching the segment on Moses, I found myself freshly inspired about the power of God to do whatever it takes when He sets His mind on a thing. He decided to liberate Israel from four centuries of slavery. They did not and could not help on any level. He put forth a strategy that required amazing, miraculous feats of supernatural power.

When He was done, they were free.

I thought about what it must have been like for the Jews alive at that time to witness these things. I mean, think about it. Think about the violence and horror of our own Civil War, which is what it took for the South to free its slaves back in the 1800s. Big nations whose entire economy is dependent on slave labor, don’t just decide one day to let them all go free. That nation must be forced to release them.

Which is why I don’t believe the story of Moses is some wonderful myth. The facts are: the Jews were slaves to the Egyptians for 400 years. Then they were not. Then they were somehow safely across the Red Sea.

You might think a people who witness these extravagant displays of supernatural power with their own eyes would be forever grateful to the One who delivered them. And you might think they would reason, if He could do all these things then He could certainly provide for us going forward from here.

But that’s not what we see from these folks. Shortly after this, they begin to grumble and complain at Moses, and at God, with each new trial they face. We’re not talking about some minor discouragement; we’re talking about full-fledged anger and resentment. The shaking your fist in God’s face kind of anger. There is no thankfulness toward God present, no trust.

It’s almost as if they have disregarded everything God has done for them so far, and have adopted an, ”Okay, but what have you done for me lately?” attitude. As I watched this unfold, I found myself criticizing them harshly for being so ungrateful and having such a short memory span.

Then I began to reflect on my own–some even fairly recent–episodes of grumbling and complaining. I’ve been walking with the Lord consistently now since the age of 17 (I’m almost 56). Though I haven’t seen the Lord part the Red Sea, I have witnessed too many miraculous examples of God’s love and faithfulness to recount.

And yet, I can still find myself adopting this: “Okay, but what have you done for me lately?” attitude toward God. The truth is, if I would direct my mind to think about the correct answer to this question, actually give it some serious thought, I would find a long and growing list of things God has done for me. Even lately.

Which is precisely why the psalmists and even the apostles in the New Testament urge us to cultivate a thankful heart toward God. To regularly and intentionally dwell on the good things God has done. It’s not because God craves complements; it’s because the default setting for our minds, because of Adam’s Fall, is set in the wrong place.

We tend to magnify the negative, the parts left undone, the mistakes, the prayers not answered yet or not answered to our liking. But what would happen if we deliberately spent time thinking about what God has done for us lately?

So I did this.

And that exercise led me into a long list of things to be thankful for. Some big, some small. But all excellent (and recent) examples of the Father’s love. Try it some time. Tell us what you come up with.