Green Light Blessing
I called my drive to work this morning a “blessing.”
Each morning I drive less than two miles to a parking lot, get in a stranger’s car and “slug” to Washington, DC. The trip to the parking lot takes me through 4 traffic lights and 3 stop signs. Two of the traffic lights are right turns so I don’t count those, the stop signs are never busy, and one of the two remaining lights is weight triggered leaving me with one annoying stop light. Very often I get stuck sitting at this light watching the line behind me grow and a trickle of cars drive through the intersection in front of me. (I write a few paragraphs about why it annoys me and even more reasons why it shouldn’t but that’s not what I’m going for in this post so I’ll just move on.)
Today, I caught that annoying light just right. As I drove through the intersection I said to myself “Thank you God for that blessing.” In that same moment, I wondered what made getting through that green light a “blessing.” Why did I call the light going my way a blessing, but when God deems it right for the light to turn red and me to wait not a “blessing.” Do I only consider things that God gives me that are what I want good, but when God in his infinite knowledge and love gives me things that aren’t in what I want not worthy of thanks?
What is a blessing really?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “give thanks in all circumstances…”
Comments
In it, the Eve-like character states something like, "So when I go into the garden to get some fruit, and I picture the fruit I want in my mind, but when I get there, I am presented with a different fruit, but this fruit is the best because it is what God provided for me. Who am I to say that the fruit is not good because it is not the one I wanted?"
I've been thinking about things like this for the last couple of days, and your post brings a different angle to it which is great. Instead of comparing two "good" things like fruit, why would something be "bad" like waiting at a light?
We are infinitely blessed because we are His children, and the Father knows how to give good gifts.
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
So I think the attitude is we should consider ourselves blessed regardless of the circumstance.