When we take God’s goodness for granted

There are times when we take God’s goodness in our lives for granted. There are moments when we do not appreciate the blessings we have received from God. Self-entitlement subtly creeps into our hearts and leads us to think that we deserve the good things we have. The delusion that we deserve good things, even though we are not clearly deserving because of our unworthiness towards God’s goodness, makes us think we are entitled to blessings. And since we think this way, we are hurt when things do not go according to our desires and plans.

What do we do when we take God’s goodness for granted?

We must remind ourselves that everything is grace, that all the things we have received from God are undeserved and unmerited. No matter how much effort we expend, we can never merit God’s favor toward us because we always fall short of God’s standards. Punishment is what we truly deserve. But God, out of His love toward us, has granted us saving grace through faith in Christ. Let us fix our eyes on Christ. Let us meditate on what He has done for us to be reminded of God’s goodness and our unworthiness every day of our lives.

We should labor to cultivate hearts attuned to grace by rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all our circumstances. (1 Thess. 5:16-18) Let us always involve thanksgiving in our prayers because all things are grounds for rejoicing, because all things come from a good God, and God wants what’s good for us. Let us always start the day and end the day by thanking God all the blessings He has given us. Let us be on the lookout for the things we could thank God for. Let us always deflect the praise to God rather on ourselves by being grateful people who has really been touched and changed by omnipotent grace.

Let us also acknowledge our inadequacy daily and beg God for help knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing. We rely on our wisdom, abilities, and resources whenever we do not acknowledge our inadequacy. When we do this, we think that the fruits of our labor are primary because of us. Let us cultivate in our hearts that we are merely tools of God’s grace. As tools for His work, our value is at His disposal. Let us daily surrender our lives to Him. He is the One who fills us up with strength for us to lay hold of the blessings He has prepared for us. And as tools of grace, let us always beg God for us to be used by His redeeming hands.