June 19 Devotion: Showing Gratitude

Gratitude

1 Kings 19:4

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

I wonder at times if we tend to forget that these people in the Bible are human just like us. They were made of the same flesh we are. It’s easy for us to look at this situation with Elijah and question how in the world could a person get so depressed in such a short time after he had seen God move in such a great way. It happens the same way it does with us. How many times has God blessed us or we’ve  seen God move in a big way, and shortly after we face something in our lives that gets us to doubt, gets us to fear, or gets us to go sit under a juniper tree so to speak. It can happen to anyone, including great men of God like Elijah.

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately about the men in my life who’ve had such a great impact on me. Some preachers, some pastors, some  men that are faithful. They’ve all had such a huge impact on my life. These men aren’t made out of anything special. They are made of the same flesh we are as well and face the same situations in this life that we do. Sometimes they may need encouragement as well. Don’t do it just to do it today, but I’d challenge you to pray and seek God on someone who has meant so much to you and just reach out to them. Might be words of encouragement or just a simple thank you. You never know what they may be facing and a word of encouragement or thanks can go a long way in helping to pick them up.

God bless,

Bro. Josh Richardson