His Generosity!

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 13. Here is what I learned.

I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6 (KJV)

I will sing to the Eternal, for He is always generous with me. Psalm 13:6 (VOICE)

I sing to the Lord because he has taken care of me. Psalm 13:6 (NCV)

I do sing to Jehovah, For He hath conferred benefits upon me! Psalm 13:6 (YLT)

I will sing unto the Lord,.... In prayer faith is encouraged, through believing the heart is filled with joy; and this joy is expressed by the lips, in songs of praise to the Lord, ascribing the glory of salvation to him, and giving him thanks for every mercy and blessing of life;

because he hath dealt bountifully with me; both in a way of providence and grace, granting life and preserving it, and supporting with the comforts of it; blessing with spiritual blessings, and crowning with loving kindness and tender mercies; all which is generous and bountiful dealing, and affords a just occasion of praise and thanksgiving. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Dealt bountifully, always generous, taken care of, conferred benefits upon me...... so often, when we hear those words, our minds toward the things we don’t have, rather than what we do have. 

If God is so generous, why don’t I have more... money, nicer things, etc? If God is so generous, why am I in pain, or sick, or ......? The lists continue. 

But I think that often we forget that God does not owe us anything. God in His mercy and grace first gave us the greatest gift, and that was His Son, Jesus, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. God gave us the gift of salvation, we only have to accept it. 

Secondly, God does give us many blessings, but with a specific purpose and plan in mind. He created us that we would bring Him glory and honor. And we each do that in different ways. Some sing, some preach, some through friendships, some.... yes, even because of their pain and illness. 

I know that in my own life, God has used my pain to introduce me to people I never would have met otherwise. And I have met many because I use crutches. God in His goodness, has provided me with a ministry to encourage others who live with chronic pain or illness. Now, I would not have chosen this ministry on my own...but God chose it for me. He knew that for me to serve Him best, I’d need to be in pain. Now, just because I am in pain, doesn’t mean that God has forgotten me, for He continues to bless me beyond measure! I am amazed daily at God’s generosity and love. 

To create a positive day, I only need to start counting the blessings God has generously given me, for in counting the blessings, I praise God for His generosity!

What works....

One thing I've learned about living with chronic pain....the body works in amazing ways! One side-effect of my pain medication is nightmarish dreams. They can be bizarre to frightening. I have tried many things to get rid of the dreams....but finally my chiropractor and I found something that works! Electro-acupuncture. There are 9 points; 6 on the back, 1 on my left foot, and one on each wrist. The points are stimulated between 15 to 30 seconds each, and the treatment keeps me nightmare free for about a week.

Electro-acupuncture also has kept me Migraine free for a year! I still have my constant headache, but that doesn't compare to a migraine. I can treat the migraine points myself with the Stim Pro Plus (http://www.ihconcepts.com).
The more I learn about the body, I continue to realize how unique God made us.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well. (Psalm 139: 13, 14)

God knew how to "assemble" the body so that it works without us knowing how! I don't have to know how to digest my food. I just eat and the body does its "thing" to use the nutrients to make my body work. I don't have to think about how often my heart beats, it beats in a particular rhythm to assure a fresh oxygenated blood supply to all the organs in my body.

When things don't work properly, that's when our bodies get our attention. If we feel pain or are sick, we than realize just how much our bodies do without any help from us! God created us...we did not evolve. God made us in His image. We are wonderfully made. We need to give God praise!

Want to create a positive day? Take a moment to think about how your body works. As your amazement continues to grow, you can't help but praise God. And praising God creates the ultimate positive day!