One Good Thing

Water is a basic necessity of life. To watch my donkey Dulcie drink it, you’d think it’s a delicacy.

My two donkeys have 24/7 access to water, refreshed daily. When getting a drink, Tobin dips his lips in, drinks his fill, and wanders off. Meanwhile Dulcie lingers, sipping and pausing and sipping some more. Once finished, she lifts her head with the last sip in her mouth and holds it for a moment.

Sometimes she’ll tilt her head with a meditative expression. Always, when she finally swallows and walks away, she practically radiates satisfaction.

Her relish makes me laugh. But in a way, it also makes me a little jealous.

I want that kind of full, unfiltered appreciation of little, even dreadfully practical things. Even more, I want a similar capacity to enjoy the Giver of all good things.

I’m sure many of you can relate. And I believe we can have that experience.

With a little intentionality, I believe we can find joy in good things, satisfaction in God, and richness in sharing the goodness.

Pleased With Blessings

When Dulcie drinks water, I doubt she’s thinking about the grass she was just eating or the patch of dirt she might go roll in once she’s done. If Tobin comes up for a drink, she acknowledges him with a twitch of her head, but whether he stays or leaves is up to him. In this moment, the water is forefront in her mind.

Big or unexpected blessings are easy to appreciate. Their merits are easy to see and grab our attention. But small or anticipated blessings like a drink of water are equally worth appreciating and can provide just as much joy.

Little things become big when we focus on them. That can go both ways. We can turn small problems into crises by fixating on them. We can also turn little blessings into great pleasures by reflecting on and thanking God for them.

Sometimes a blessing seems too small to be made much of. But a few moments’ contemplation often reveals more.

For example, a sandwich might at first glance represent only a bit of lunchtime nourishment. But it can represent more: the hands that made it, the money that paid for it, the job that provided the money, the plants and animals that contributed the ingredients, the farmers who raised those creatures, the soil and sun and rain that nourished them, and so on.

Framed in such terms, something as ordinary as a sandwich becomes a miracle.

Even when we don’t have time or mental resources to explore all of a blessing’s dimensions, simply acknowledging it makes it stand out in our minds. And as small as that one speck of brightness may seem, many specks add up to illuminate dark places. And sometimes, even one light is enough to keep us seeking goodness.

So pause to thank God for every good thing—even the small ones. Include thanksgiving in your prayers. If it helps, start a list of good, beneficial, or simply beautiful or pleasant things you encounter or experience. (Feeling ambitious with the list idea? Give yourself a quota.)

We don’t have to feel thankful to give thanks. Sometimes the thanksgiving precedes the thanks-feeling. Nor do we need to give thanks for everything. Some things truly aren’t good in and of themselves.

But, to quote Ann Voskamp from her book One Thousand Gifts, “As long as there is a God in heaven, there is grace on earth…” There will always be something to thank God for, even if the only good thing we can think of is Him (which is truly more than enough).And while not everything is good, He can use anything for good.

We can give thanks to Him in every circumstance. And when we do, we honor Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Satisfied by the Source

All good things have one Source. I don’t know whether Dulcie knows it (or can). But we humans can and do. And we can find the same—nay, better—pure, utter satisfaction in Him that she does in her water.

We get to know God by studying His Word, the Bible. We reach out to Him through prayer. We welcome Him into our lives through obedience. We celebrate Him through worship.

These are all simple steps (though not always easy). Yet they nourish our souls as much as, if not more than, water nourishes our bodies. Because God is our source of life and existence, connecting with Him is vital to our spiritual wellbeing.

And as with a drink of water, we choose how deeply we delve. We can draw on Him just enough to take the edge off our thirst and keep us functional…or we can draw on Him till we’re satisfied and thriving.

Sometimes we long to do the latter but circumstances seem set against us. Work, school, and family commitments crowd our schedules and drain our attention. Finances and space limit what we can budget to Bible study and devotional resources.

That’s okay. God isn’t limited to certain places or times. He’s there wherever we are, ready to commune whenever we turn to Him. Turning to Him is something we can do anywhere, anytime, with the resources available to us.

He doesn’t expect anything fancy. He simply asks for us—who we are and what we have at any given moment.

So pray and watch for opportunities to grow and dive deeper in your relationship with Him. But until you get where you want to be, start where you are.

What matters is faithfulness with the opportunities we have. And those opportunities can be stunningly simple and everyday.

And remember: A satisfying drink of water can be taken in long, lingering drafts or small, regular sips. Often we live best when we incorporate both.

Enriched Through Sharing

I don’t know how Dulcie feels about sharing a water tub with Tobin. Sometimes they drink together; sometimes alone. Possibly she’d rather have it all to herself. Possibly she doesn’t care.

But when people share good things, their appreciation tends to multiply.

This is especially true when we share God Himself. Far from losing some of Him to others, we gain a fuller experience of Him.

C.S. Lewis explains this well in a chapter on friendship in his book The Four Loves. Among a group of human friends, each friend brings out a different side of the others. In this way, friends gain a fuller appreciation of each other when a group of them are together. Similarly, each of us has a unique perspective and experience of God. When we share those perspectives and experiences with each other, we all gain a fuller appreciation of Him.

In Lewis’s words, “The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.”

We share God by telling others about who He is and what He’s done in our lives. We share Him by worshiping, serving, praying, and studying His Word together.

In sharing Him, we not only increase each other’s joy and nourish each others’ souls, but we also fulfill the very purpose for which we were made: glorifying God as individuals and as His Church.

So pray for opportunities to share God with others. As you reflect on your personal experience of His goodness, ask Him how He’d like you to pass on that goodness. Ask Him for discernment in what, when, and how to share and with whom.

You don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) share every story or detail of your life. Nor do you need to become a writer, speaker, influencer, or missionary to be an effective witness. Simply be ready to follow God’s leading in your everyday interactions. Pray for Him to show you needs and opportunities, and for the words and resources He wants you to bring to them.

Seek out other Christ-followers with whom to worship, pray, study, serve, and play. Commit to doing so regularly. Be present with them in your time together. Make that time a priority.

Be ready to enrich—and be enriched.

***

You might read all this and think, “Enjoying and sharing God and His blessings sounds wonderful. But is He really that accessible? Can a holy Creator-God be so welcoming and generous to a single less-than-holy creature?”

The answer is yes.

We live in a world that used to be, in its Maker’s estimate, “very good” (Genesis 1:31). When humans first sinned (disobeyed God), the world went out of whack. Sin introduced death and decay, corrupted human nature, and cut us off from God.

Jesus, God the Son incarnate, came to redeem us from sin. He died on the cross to atone for our sins, was buried, and rose to life on the third day afterward to defeat death. After appearing to His disciples, He ascended to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand. One day He’ll return to renew the world and end sin, suffering, and death forever.

Because of this, anyone who repents of their sins and trusts in Jesus receives a fully restored relationship with God, now and forever. God forgives and cleanses them of their sins and welcomes them as His beloved children. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in them, serving as God’s constant presence with them and providing everything they need to live God-honoring lives. Jesus constantly advocates for them. And they can look forward to eternity with Him in a renewed world.

If you haven’t embraced a relationship with God through Jesus, now’s the perfect time to do so! Confess your sins to God, asking His forgiveness. Believe what He did for you through Jesus. Ask Jesus to save you from sin and be the Lord of your heart and life.

Drink deeply from His goodness. Praise Him for it. Share it.

Now and always.

Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.
For he has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9 (CSB)

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Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.