Gratitude and faith

I started reading another book by Piper, very similar to Pierced by the Word. It's another devotional called Life as a Vapor. Every day I read something so good, but this one served me this week, on gratitude and faith, entitled, "Endings Are For gratitude, Beginnings Are For Faith.

One of my weaknesses is a lack of faith for the future. This helped bring perspective this week to my heart, and reminded me that every moment is a moment made for thankfulness to God, and at the same time, faith toward God for the future. Here's are a few exerts:


"Since every moment is the beginning of the rest of your life, and every moment is the end of the past, every moment should be governed by the glad affections of both gratitude and faith...see the world the way Gustav Oehler (German Lutheran professor of Old Testament at Tubingen, 1812-1872) sees it...Oehler said, 'It is clear that the Old Testament teaches a providence which embraces everything...No sphere of chance exists in the Old Testament...Even what men call accidental death is under God's direction'...

In this view of things, looking back is looking on the past providence of God: 'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.' (Genesis 50:20). And looking forward is looking on the future providence of God...

If you see the world in this biblical way - and if you stand inside that biblical world as your humbly-accepted world - than every moment will be a point of gratitude toward the past and faith toward the future. The practical implications of this are great. For example, gratitude is one of the humblest affections; and faith is one of the boldest. Just think of what kind of people we would be int the next year for the cause of Christ if we were continually humbled by our backward look of gratitude and continually emboldened by our forward look of faith! No, don't just think about it. Pursue it- with all your mind and all your heart."