Category: Life & Lessons

Counting My Blessings in Ethiopia

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Losing all my luggage on the way to a destination wedding in Africa is not how I imagined kicking off 2023. A siren blared in the back of my skull when a gate agent forced me to check my carryon bag: full of the clothes I needed to fulfill my role as a groomsman. Twenty-four hours later, I landed in Ethiopia, exhausted and bleary-eyed. And my nightmare became my waking reality as I found out I wouldn’t receive my luggage until the day after my friend’s wedding. My mom rang me shortly after, and I barely managed to croak, “I lost everything.”

Counting on Little

As I settled into bed after having brushed my teeth with the last vestiges of the mini-toothbrush set Qatar Airways had provided, I was plagued by how much I’d lost. I didn’t know how I’d make it through tomorrow let alone the wedding coming up that weekend. But as hours stretched into days, I marveled at how little I actually needed. Deodorant is helpful, as are spare underwear, socks, and t-shirts, but life has a way of going on even when you lose the many “essentials” you’ve grown accustomed to.

 In the book of Philippians, apostle Paul says, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything (Philippians 4:11-12).” The word translated “learned” in this passage is manthano. As opposed to learning from head knowledge, manthano is learning from experience. Of course, the comparison is a little disingenuous when I was staying in a 4-star hotel while Paul was subsisting in a Roman dungeon. But as cruel a mistress as fate can be when traveling internationally, in God’s hands, it can be transformed into an invaluable instructor in finding joy apart from material circumstances.

Counting on My Friends

Further, I was blown-away by the kindness of my friends and their family members as we made the best of my difficult circumstances. From cogent advice to help shopping, my Ethiopian friends enabled me to tread water for the days that I was without pretty much everything.

After I thanked the groom’s sister for all her assistance in mashing together a Frankenstein composite of replacement clothes for the wedding, she replied with a laugh, “Nobody could have done this alone.”

In a similar vein, wise King Solomon once said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). If I learned one crucial lesson from this trip, it’s never travel alone! Yet I believe this teaching extends far beyond physical journeys. We were meant to journey through all of life together.

In accordance with this truth, Apostle Paul instructed 1st century Christians, “I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it” (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). So in this situation, others were able to meet my need because I was traveling in community. And likewise in the future, when others’ needs arise, I will be able to pay it forward to them as well.

Counting on My God

Lastly, I was sustained by God’s Word. The morning after I lost my belongings, the verse of the day was Matthew 6:34: “‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’”, which is an especially apt verse when you are lying awake in a jetlagged stupor attempting to figure out where you went wrong.

Earlier in the same passage, Jesus says, ‘“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes” (Matthew 6:25)? This verse shaped my experience here in Ethiopia. I was honestly tempted to drink a cocktail of self-pity and wallow in my sorrows, but this verse reminded me that there is more in life than food, drink, and even clothing.

Conclusion

As I wrap up this article the morning before I board my flight back to the United States, I am grateful. I am grateful for the laughter and jubilation as we celebrated my good friend’s wedding to his soulmate. I am grateful for the provision of God above and the kindness of loved ones all around me as I navigated this dizzying new adventure. And I am even grateful that I lost my luggage in the first place because now I appreciate how much God has given me in a fresh, new way.

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:19)

We’ve Never Been This Way Before

By Ife J. Ibitayo

There are rumblings of a new outbreak in China. Trump has just announced his bid for reelection. And the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of missing another playoffs. Nope, the year is not 2020 but 2022.

It’s been two long years since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, yet in some ways, it feels like we’re right back where we started. In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape speaks of humanity in this way: “to be in time means to change. [Humanity’s] nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation-the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.”

Even in my own life I’ve noticed this pattern. Back in 2020, I’d just started a new job, moved to a new city, and started a new phase of life. And now in 2022, I’m doing the same. Many of us may be experiencing a similar sense of déjà vu as we approach the end of this year. Our 2023 New Year Resolutions might look a lot like 2022’s. Our new job might be starting to feel a lot like our old one. We’ve spent 364 long days trudging around this mountain just to find ourselves back at square one.

Background

The Israelites experienced a similar situation thousands of years ago. After God rescued them from the clutches of Pharaoh, they traveled to the very edge of the Promised Land. The milk and honey of this paradise was practically dripping on their tongues. But in the space of a few short weeks, they suffered their first military defeat and began a forty-year detour through the harrowing wilderness (Numbers 14).

A new generation of Israelites with a new leader named Joshua arose at the end of that era. As the Lord’s people again stood poised on the edge of the Promised Land, they faced one small problem: how to get a million people across the raging Jordan River.

Keep Your Distance

Firstly, Joshua commanded the Israelites, “‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before’” (Joshua 3:3-4). The ark was a special chest representing the presence of the Lord amongst His people. And the Levitical priests were the special people ordained to carry it. So, the priests carrying the ark ahead of the people was a visible representation of the Lord going before them.

However, just like the Israelites back then, we may be tempted to rush ahead of God into this new year. As we shake off the dregs of winter break, we may be horrified by the mountain of work that has quietly accumulated for this coming January. But we must remember that God is our guide. Since He exists outside of time, He knows what lies ahead, and if we are humble enough to follow His lead, He’ll navigate us across our raging rivers safely.

Consecrate Yourself

Secondly, Joshua commanded the Israelites, “‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’” (Joshua 3:8). Consecration is to make ready for the Lord. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had dozens of rules about consecration from avoiding certain foods to abstaining from sex. But the main thrust of these regulations was not about their external bodies but their inside man. They were meant to prepare their hearts for an encounter with God.

But when we find ourselves facing familiar problems with our health, our loved ones, or our job, we may want to dial down our expectations going into this new year. But as the author of Hebrews says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). We don’t want to miss God when He passes by; we want to wait expectantly on Him.

Mark the Watershed Moments

Lastly, after Joshua and the rest of the Israelites had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord commanded them to take twelve large rocks out of the river and set them up as a memorial (Joshua 4). Grammarist defines a watershed moment as “a turning point…from which things will never be the same. It is considered momentous, though a watershed moment is often recognized in hindsight.” It’s essential to remember where we’ve been so we don’t end up back where we were. We must live our lives marking our watershed moments so that when we face our next raging river, we can confidently expect God to part it again.

Conclusion

If we follow God’s lead with a heart filled with hope, we may just see Him work wonders for us in 2023. The end of 2022 may look a lot like the beginning of 2020, but I assure you, we’ve never been this way before.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
(Isaiah 43:19)

The Love, Loss, and Life of Christmas (What Christmas Gifts Mean to Me Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For “A Gift Worth Waiting For”, click here. For “A Salty Lightbulb”, click here.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It was tempting to end this article here. For this verse obviously speaks for itself. We’ve all heard it; we all know it; we all get it. Just like the famed holiday itself, a bit of the Christmas magic may have worn off this beautiful passage. But when I stumbled across this verse this week, I was struck anew by its power.

Love

“For God so loved the word…” When defining agape—the word translated in this verse as “love”—Wikipedia couldn’t have described it any better: “a deep and profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.” The core of Christmas is the heart of a Father. When God wrapped up His son in flesh and delivered Him down the chimney of time, He expressed the fullness of His love for us. In Exodus, He shouted, “I love you so much that I will rescue you.” In the temple, He declared, “I love you so much that I will be with you.” In Jesus, He whispered, “I love you so much that I will become you.”

Loss

“…that He gave His one and only Son…” I recently read Mary Beth Chapman’s–Steven Curtis Chapman’s wife–Choosing to See about the death of their kindergarten age daughter. Therein, I saw the visceral destruction that the death of a child wreaks on a family. No parent will willingly part with their child. They will part with their wealth, health, and even their own life before seeing their dear son or daughter suffer. But the Father willingly gave up His Son for us.

As regifting becomes more socially acceptable, we’re growing ever more accustomed to giving gifts that cost us nothing. But the Father is not like us. As the Creator of the universe, He could give us the world quite literally, and it still would have cost Him nothing. But instead, He gave the only thing—the only One—that He could not replace with a snap of His fingers.

Life

“…that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus was born so that we would never die (John 11:25-26). His painful entry into a stinking stable in a fallen world was far more than a stocking stuffer. It changed everything.

And so, as we celebrate Christmas tomorrow, we must look upon this holiday with fresh eyes. Christmas is more than a holiday; it is a “holy day” where we should pause and consider the wonder of the love, the loss, and the life of our risen savior: Jesus Christ.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6)

A Salty Lightbulb (What Christmas Gifts Mean to Me Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “A Gift Worth Waiting For”, click here.

Shortly before he was rediagnosed with cancer, my former housemate gave me a Christmas present I still carry with me today. It was a lightbulb filled with salt. A strip of paper attached to it read: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” Many gifts remind us of who we were, others who we could be. But a select few affirm who we are.

Salt

When speaking about salt, Jesus said in full, “‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot’” (Matthew 5:13). Salt was essential in the ancient world because it performed two unique functions: 1. It acted as a preservative against decay. 2. It added taste to otherwise insipid food. And God has called us Christians to fulfill both roles today: moral preservers and experience enhancers.

Yet around every corner lurks an opportunity to sacrifice our unique, Christ-bearing nature on the altar of work, pleasure, money, or power. And if we bow before any of these, we may end up losing our selves in the process.

One of the most poignant verses of the famous hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” reads, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” We drift by nature. That is why Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” (Matthew 11:29). We need to be tapped into God’s word and hooked up with His people if we don’t want to lose our saltiness.

Light

Secondly, Jesus said, “‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

I’ve been struggling with how to manifest my faith out here in Los Angeles. California is known as the godless state by us southerners. And I was terrified that I’d be eaten alive if I expressed my convictions. But I had a meaningful conversation with the Christian founder of a nonprofit. As I asked her how she navigated her faith and her work, she struggled to give an answer. At last, she said, “I just do. That’s just who I am.” No matter where we are or who we’re surrounded by, the world needs the light of Jesus. With earnest sincerity (and a fresh measure of humility and tact), we must let out core convictions shine through everything we do. Just as a lightbulb is useless if covered by a box, we are useless if we live as undercover Christians.

Conclusion

Salt and light don’t seem to associate well as a word picture, like sunshine and rain or oil and water. But I think that’s part of the beauty of the symbolism Jesus used. He was the only true salty lightbulb who walked this earth, able to both shine bright and sink deep, and by so doing He transformed the world He came to save. And now we walk in His footsteps by remembering who are in Him because of His gift to us two thousand years ago.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
(Ephesians 5:8)

A Gift Worth Waiting For (What Christmas Gifts Mean to Me Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

All I wanted for Christmas was a blue, remote-controlled fighter jet. As I bounded down the stairs that magic-filled morning, I saw a box under the tree that I knew was for me. It was just the right size. When I shook it, it was just the right sound. And when my older brother opened his Christmas present, it was exactly what he’d ask for: a massive blue and black bow-and-arrow set.

I excitedly ripped open the brightly colored wrapping paper on my present to discover a pink Noah’s ark set. Baffled, I glanced around the tree to see if this was A Christmas Story moment. Was there one last present tucked away behind the couch? But there wasn’t, and I was devastated.

My mom told me that when we’d visited the toy store several months ago, she’d given me the option of getting the toy I wanted for Christmas or getting a different toy right then and there. In my tremendous eight-year-old wisdom, I’d chosen the instant toy, played with it for a little bit, and forgotten it’s existence. Then my mom, out of pity, had purchased a present for me to put under the tree anyway.

With tears in my eyes and a sob choking my throat, I struggled to thank my mom for the gift she’d given me, which made her teary-eyed too. And from that frosty holiday I learned a valuable lesson that I still carry with me today.

Instant Gifts Lead to Eventual Regret

The first half of that lesson is that instant gifts lead to eventual regret. “Instant” should probably top the “Top 10 Words of This Year” list every year. We slurp up instant ramen night after night because cooking a proper meal would take too long. We send instant messages to our family members because walking across the house to talk to them requires too much effort. And just like my fighter jet debacle, the consequences of our instant nature are often not “instantly” obvious. It’s only as the months pass as our bellies widen or our relationships fray that we realize how much we’ve lost by getting what we want instantly.

Good Gifts Take Time

Conversely, good gifts take time. I believe God baked this truth into our very nature as human beings. Babies require nine long months to be born and another twenty-one years to reach full maturity. Across the world, the average marriage age is well past twenty, meaning that one of the best gift many of us will receive will take most of us two or even three decades to receive. And it’ll be at least another twenty years after that till we reach our happiest wedded bliss.

Conclusion

As Christmas approaches, we may have several gifts we’re waiting to receive—a new job, a new relationship, or a new phase of life to transition into. But if we’re impatient, we may short-circuit the wonderful present our divine Gift Giver is preparing for us. Just as Jesus Christ was certainly worth the thousands of years the world waited to receive Him, whatever gift God has in store for us, is also worth the wait.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I My Cross Have Taken (A Day in the Life of a Dead Man Walking Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

“[Jesus] said to them all, ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).

In no starker way could Christ have highlighted the steep cost of accepting Him as both Lord and Savior. In The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer thundered, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Yet this truth does not resonate with my life here in America. I’ve never gone hungry or lived on the streets. I attended private schools and charter schools throughout my childhood. My greatest fear as a Christian is being criticized or ostracized not imprisonment or death. So why does Christ warn that following Him will cost us everything?

The Cross Jesus Carried

The answer lies in the very person of Jesus Christ Himself. Less than a day before His death, He said, “‘Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’” (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ entire life was marked by self-sacrifice. He stepped down from perfection and clothed Himself in corruption (Philippians 2:7). He was born in obscurity, lived in paucity, and died in ignominy. He chose the hard life when He could have had the high life. And as “little-Christs”, we are called to do the same.

My Cross to Carry

Even here in the most comfortable country in the world, the bid to “come and die” is both powerful and tangible. It may involve something as drastic as “selling all we have” like Jesus called the rich young ruler to do (Matthew 19:21). But it’ll often look more like the story of the Good Samaritan:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side…But a Samaritan, as he traveled…saw him and took pity” (Luke 10:30-33).

The call to die is often as simple as caring enough to not walk on by. I know caring is expensive in our hectic, fast-paced world. Caring may require our time, our energy, or even our money. But we can’t carry the world on one shoulder and the cross on the other. We must lay one down if we want to take up the other.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

(Ephesians 5:1-2)

I Thank God for Family (I Thank God For… Pt. 4)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1: “I Thank God for Gratitude”. For Part 2: “I Thank God for His Promises”. And for Part 3: “I Thank God for the Memories”.

Family is a complicated word. When we think of gratitude, the furthest people from many of our minds is our family. Even in my own life, some of my deepest wounds have come from my parents and siblings. But family is special to God because that is who He is.

An Old Family

When God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper [counterpart] suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18), He created the second family in all of existence. God was never alone. Since eternity past, He’s always been Father, Son, and Spirit—the Trinity. And that is why Jesus spends His time on earth calling God His Heavenly Father.

The Father loves the Son (John 5:20), and the Son pleases the Father (John 8:29). Their relationship with one another—along with the Holy Spirit, is unparalleled, and this is the type of relationship God calls us to enter into with our earthly family.

A New Family

For many reasons, our earthly family may not be our blood relatives. Due to trauma or other unfortunate life circumstances, we may not have spent Thanksgiving with anyone who shares our last name. But the beautiful thing about the Christian concept of family is how expansive it is.

Through Christ’s death on the cross, He inaugurated a new type of family, one not bound by the blood of our ancestors but the blood of our risen Savior. In the book of Galatians, Apostle Paul says, “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26, 28). So Christ connects us believers in a way that transcends gender, ethnicity, and even ancestry. And through Him we are forever family.

Conclusion

In the past decade, Friendsgivings have been on the rise. One of the most intimate family moments of the year has begun to be shared with close friends. While some lament the dissolvement of family traditions, I believe this phenomenon may be a good thing. The root is connection, whether by blood or by faith, and as we transition into the Christmas season, we can be grateful we have our tribe to celebrate with.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1)

I Thank God for the Memories (I Thank God For… Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “I Thank God for Gratitude”, click here. For Part 2, “I Thank God for His Promises,” click here.

Psalm 103:2 begins with, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” As I reflect on this psalm as we near the end of this year, its words resonate in the depths of my inner man. Many people called 2020 “the year that took our breath away,” but for me that was 2022. Some of the highest highs and lowest lows I’ve experienced in a long time occurred during this past year.

Lowest Lows

“Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3). There are few things in life as terrifying as a false positive. When I was told at a routine checkup in May that I “might have had a heart attack,” only the word of God sustained me through that stressful week. Just as God preserved King Hezekiah on his deathbed (Isaiah 38:1-5), God’s word held me together as I spiraled under the hold of a terrifying diagnosis.

“Who redeems your life from destruction” (Psalm 103:4a). Well, there might be one thing more terrifying than a false positive: an SUV u-turning out of traffic and barreling toward you on the sidewalk. My feet were glued to the ground as my brain struggled to process what my eyes were seeing. But a voice in the back of my head cried, “Move!” and I leapt out of the way right before the vehicle flattened a yield sign and crashed into a tree. For weeks, anxiety swirled within me as I walked around my neighborhood. But the God who’s protected me for all my years before promised to continue protecting me now. And I knew I could trust in Him.

Highest Highs

“Who crowns you with love and compassion” (Psalm 103:5a). In the midst of the many difficult moments this past year, I found God trustworthy. Even when I was stressing over small things, God proved loving and compassionate. One day, I found out that the mover I had selected to transport my stuff across the country was untrustworthy. But after several hours of scouring the internet, I had no alternative plan. So I went for a walk to pray, and I saw the moving truck for a company I had never heard of. When I researched them, they turned out to be a perfect fit, and they transported my belongings seamlessly.

“Who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:5b). Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve been blown away by God’s tremendous hand of blessing upon my life. Wonderful people have entered my journey at every step. I have classmates to celebrate with, believers to fellowship alongside, and a family to call home even when I’m a thousand miles from Houston. I never expected the food, fun, and laughs that I’ve found in this new city. And each new day I find myself waking up wondering if I’m still dreaming.

Conclusion

Memories are pictures etched in the photo album of our minds that we can flip back to in the years to come. I’m sure they will grey and grow fuzzy with time, but I’m positive that I will soon turn back to 2022 and thank God for the memories.

“I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done.”

(1 Chronicles 16:12)

I Thank God for His Promises (I Thank God For… Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I still remember my first crush. She was a gorgeous Asian beauty, and I was a bumbling fifth grader. In my brilliant elementary school wisdom, I had to share my secret with somebody. So I swore one of my closest friends to secrecy and divulged the name of my crush to him. The very next day, like clockwork, everyone at school knew. My crush avoided me, and a bully in my class pranked me mercilessly for the next several months. From that unhappy experience I learned the life lesson that no one can be trusted to keep their promises.

And we’ve all been there. Whether it be our spouse, parent, or coworker, someone we trusted has betrayed our trust. A pop singer once sang: “How can I learn how to trust again? How can I learn how to trust? How can I learn how to love again when everything turns to dust?” When trust is so easily broken and so hard to restore, is anyone in the world truly worthy of it?

God is Not a Man

Ironically, out of the mouth of a pagan soothsayer named Balaam, the LORD says, “‘God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill’” (Numbers 23:19)? God Himself claims to be the one being in all of existence who will never let us down. He will never default on His promises. He will never fail to come through.

But there can often feel like there is a divide between the God we hope for and the God we know. There’s the God who saved our loved one from cancer, restored our failing marriage, and delivered our prodigal child. But that’s not the God we know. We’ve seen the sorrow of daily living which can sometimes make even the deepest Biblical promises feel trite and unreliable.

Yet, every week this year I reread Romans 8:32, which says, “Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?” From the eternal vantage point of our everlasting salvation, etched on our hearts through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I’ve found the comfort to put my trust in God. For only through Him are trouble, hardship, persecution, hunger, need, and danger powerless to separate me from the love of God (Romans 8:35). And so I can take God at His word when He promises, “‘Though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, My steadfast love shall never leave you, and My covenant of peace shall never be removed,’ says the LORD, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).

Conclusion

A mantra I repeat probably on a weekly basis is “trust is the hardest part.” I don’t trust readily, and I don’t trust easily. But when Christ extends His nail-pierced palms to me, I know if there is any place in the world I can rest the weight of my world, it is there and there alone.

“No word from God will ever fail.”
(Luke 1:37)

I Thank God for Gratitude (I Thank God For… Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

 About this time five years ago, I was a dispirited engineering graduate student. I experienced discouragement daily, frustration weekly, and hopelessness monthly. I vomited my heart’s content to God in prayer week after week. But one afternoon, He interrupted me with two words: “Thank Me.”

The thought struck me like a glancing blow to the head. It was so far out of left field that I dismissed it and carried on lamenting. But God repeated, “Thank Me.”

I shot back, “Don’t you know what I’m going through? Why on earth should I thank You?” But from that day forward, God began to teach me the essential value of gratitude.

Be Grateful for the Mundane

Christian author and artist Joni Eareckson Tada once had a mentor who started off every day by saying, “I thank you God for giving me arms that move and legs that walk.” Joni found this acknowledgment ridiculous until she found herself paralyzed from the neck down years later.

When we focus on our problems, pain, or poverty, we often neglect the silent blessings that God gifts us every day.  From the bed I lay on at night to the clothes I slip on in the morning, the sandwich I eat for lunch or the job I clock out of for dinner, each day is filled with a multitude of blessings we’ve grown used to. When we take the time to explicitly enumerate such graces, we can appreciate how blessed our life remains even when it is filled with staggering difficulties.

Be Grateful in the Bad

Furthermore, there is often good to be found in the bad if we dare to look for it. In fifth grade, my tonsils swelled in my throat. I collapsed out of my chair as I struggled to breathe, and my teacher called an ambulance. I could not believe that the paramedics were coming for me, of all people.

But I still remember my relief when my mom arrived on the scene and my heartfelt gratitude for a kind letter a classmate gave me the following day. There are very few other moments in my life that I felt as loved and supported as I did that week in spite of the terror of gasping for air. Even though the good to be found in bad situations may not be evident, that doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent.

Be Grateful for Our God

Lastly, gratitude focuses our minds on the greatness of our good God rather than the badness of our evil problems. The psalmist Asaph once said, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is God who holds its pillars firm” (Psalm 75:3). If God can steady Los Angeles when it quakes (which it does thirty times a day), He can surely steady my life when I’m shaken by stress or distress. Such reminders grant us fresh perspective on our challenging life circumstances.

Conclusion

From the day I made a habit of gratitude—thanking God daily in my prayers and keeping a list of ten things I am grateful for each evening, my master’s experience improved. My circumstances hadn’t changed. Several months passed before tangible signs of hope entered the test cell I slaved in day and night. But the transformation within me directly impacted my view of the world around me. And that is why I’ve found gratitude to not be the product of a good life but the input that produces a beautiful one.

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)