I Gave God Nothing
By: June Murage
Tags: Thanksgiving, Christian, Faith, Christianity, Christian Living

The story is told of a young boy who found salvation at an early age. When the rest of his peers were entering puberty and discovering the freedom that comes with early teenagehood, this boy was in church serving and learning what it is like to go without a meal during a fasting season.

This boy was so attuned to the benefits of his salvation that when the enemy attacked his home, he turned to his Savior and asked for a reprieve. The young boy sought counsel from church elders who advised him on what to do in order to see his prayers answered. The boy did as told and believed in his youthful heart that his Savior would come through.

His Savior didn’t come through as the boy expected and tragedy befell the young child’s life. What followed was anger, withdrawal, and eventually a disconnect between the young boy and his Savior. Years went by as the boy continued to seek the answers to the question; why didn’t you intervene, Lord or at least warn me this tragedy would happen?

This story breaks my heart because at fourteen, I was a clueless teenager whose biggest issue in life was fitting in. I struggled in school, finding my identity and a myriad of other teenage issues, but nothing comes close to the experiences of the boy in the story.

I gave God nothing to have the life I enjoyed, and so I find it easy to have faith in God. I sit and look forward to the day I will meet my Savior. I sit and write about my faith in a God who has never failed to come through for me and about how God got me through my troubled past. Of course, none of these things are wrong, however, I recently wondered; what if?

What if I had suffered such a great tragedy? Would I be sitting here writing about a faithful God, or would I have lost my faith and joined the leagues of those who scoff whenever we proudly proclaim of God’s goodness? Would I have lost my faith, or would I have held on as Job did?

I honestly don’t know, and that alone scares me. It scares me because I don’t feel like I am any kind of special. I am not a beholder of such great faith as the Abrahams, Josephs, and Jobs of the world. It scares me to think that maybe if something profoundly hurtful happened to me, I wouldn’t be able to hold on.

As I write this, a part of me is saying I may be stronger than I think. See, I have this tunnel vision of getting to heaven such that when someone asked me what would I do if such tragedy happened to me; I declared that everyone I love belongs to God. If it happened that they went to be with the Lord, it would hurt but then I would still be okay because, in my heart, I know that is where I am headed as well.

Recently, I was listening to a particular devotion in which the narrator said these words; “I thank you God for my faith” and at that moment I knew it is a privilege to have faith. It is a privilege to read your bible and believe what is written in it without questioning where Cain’s wife came from. It is a privilege to believe in a higher power and see God in everything around you.

Seeing God in your children’s faces, feeling Him in the breeze that brushes against your skin, seeing God in the blossoming flowers, and hearing Him in the thundering rain. It is a privilege to know of His presence both in the little things and the big things. It is a privilege and for this; I say thank You, God.

The intention of today’s post was to thank God. I thank God because I have never had such a faith-testing tragedy. I thank God because I didn’t need to give Him anything or be any kind of special to be exempt from knowing that kind of pain. I thank God because I have faith and the trials that have come my way have only made my faith grow. I thank God because even though the boy in the story is stuck in a loop of questions and anger, God still cares and loves him.

“Faith is a privilege” is a new lesson for me, and I believe I will hold it in higher esteem from now on whenever I encounter someone who is struggling. My heart is overflowing with gratitude and so I wonder, what are you thankful for?