Praising God in the Dust

Have you ever thanked God for the dust?

Yes, I am talking about plain, ordinary, dust that sticks to everything.

Chances are you’ve never thanked God for the dust. I know I never have until this year.

To the farmer, dust in the field during Spring means it’s dry enough to plant (Praise, Jesus!). Farmers have a small window of time to get their crops safely planted in the ground so that they can flourish. Add to it the fact that weather in the Midwest can be so unpredictable, and it can make things more than a little hectic.

So when I saw a cloud of dust trailing the planter on the first day of #plant20, I lifted my eyes toward the heavens and whispered, “thank you, Lord, for the dust.”

It’s amazing how hard times can strengthen your gratitude muscles.

2019 was a brutal year in farming. Record flooding, a delayed harvest, and a trade war with China hammered American farmers.

And after a year like that, you learn to be grateful for the dust and everything else.

You see, gratitude is the great multiplier. Gratitude turns the illusion of not enough, into a feast of abundance.

If you begin to look around you and count the blessings you see, you will quickly realize how truly blessed you are.

I had the joy of recently doing an online bible study (with some sweet friends and family) based on Ann Voskamp‘s book “One Thousand Gifts.” The study really opened my eyes to the importance of counting the gifts that God has given us, in order to transform the lens in which we see the world.

Ann encourages us to keep a gratitude journal and challenges us to document one thousand gifts. The more gifts you declare (in writing), the more easily your eyes can see more gifts.

The sunshine. Coffee with a friend. Your dog curled up next to you. Gentle rain. An old movie. Driving fast in your muscle car. Worship music. Fresh fizz of sparkling water. A bountiful harvest. Texting with a dear friend. Laughing until you cry. A soul saved.

This act of writing down gifts is a spiritual exercise. It takes daily practice. Our ability to be grateful in all things is a muscle and we must use it every day to truly get good at seeing everything as a gift from God.

Even the bad.

That’s hard to swallow. So hard. It’s something that I work on every day and I feel far from having a handle on it.

To embrace the fact that all things, both good and bad, pass through the hands of God.

To know that in the midst of things that are bad, there are also gifts present and things to be thankful for.

Certainly no one asks God for the tumor, mental illness, abuse, addiction, financial burdens, hopelessness, loneliness, death, heartbreak, or loss.

But as Christians, these are very real things ourselves and our family and friends go though. Life can rip your heart out and leave you gasping for air.

God allows us to go through these things for reasons we may never know or understand until we get to Heaven.

But there are things to be thankful for in the midst of those things, sweet friends. And it starts with Jesus.

Jesus died on the Cross for our sins. So that He could offer us the best gift we could ever ask for, eternal salvation in Heaven with Him.

He also knows our every hurt and catches our every tear. “You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalms 56:8)

Can you imagine going to Heaven and seeing your jar of tears? Some of us may have something that looks more like a in-ground swimming pool of tears than a jar, but that’s okay. To know God cares so much about each one of our tears that he has collected them and will turn them into blessings. Wowza. That makes me smile.

He cares so very much about each us and He doesn’t want us to hurt ever, but then again He tells us over and over this is our temporary home. Our true home is in Heaven and He’s here to lead us home.

To know Jesus is to know in your soul that God is working all things for His glory and for your good.

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

If we can embrace the words of Jeremiah 29:11 and trust that God is working for our good, even when it doesn’t feel like it, we have the freedom to become thankful in all things.

The tumor can make you rethink your priorities and love on your family even harder. Mental illness can help you see the tenderness of the soul. Abuse can teach you how poweful words are and the importance of chosing them carefully. Addiction can force you to depend on Jesus moment-by-moment like you never have before. Your financial burdens can help you remove the excess and to learn to grow your own food. Hopelessness can force you to reach out to befriend someone you never would have before. Lonliness can help you deepen your prayer life. Death can reunite a broken family and heal a lifetime of hurts. Heartbreak can remind us that we had the courage to be open to know true love. Loss can strengthen your gratitude muscles.

These are just examples and there are millions more. It’s up to us to choose to see the gifts in all things God has given. To keep our hands wide open to receive all things He wants to give us, whether we feel we want it or not.

I was chatting with a dear friend (who is also a farmer) recently and he was sharing how throughout his life he has watched how people handle tough times. Those people who, through tearful eyes, could raise their hands and praise God in even the toughest storms, came though the tough times with big blessings they had never expected. Those who fought against God and cursed Him for the suffering, continued to struggle.

We must strive to suffer well and see even the tiniest gifts amongst the agony, because to do so is to see the face of Jesus.

We serve an awesome and Holy God and He is worthy of all of our praise, always and no matter what.

Each day we are blessed with a million gifts. Seriously.

Think about how much our life, our families lives, and the entire world would be different if we shifted our mind towards focusing on the gifts that are always present from God.

Let us be a person of praise and gratitude. Let us magnify the Lord by our thankfulness.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6)

“Sing to the Lord with grateful  praise.” (Psalm 147:7)

“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” (Proverbs 15:15)

Let us take off the spirit of heaviness and put on the garment of praise.

Joel, my farmer husband, is my inspiration when it comes to offering unfiltered, jubilant praise to the Lord. He often strums his guitar and sings praise songs from his heart, a precious act that warms my soul. He belts out beautiful hymns in Church. Or he will sing songs of praise while he’s working on the tractor. You may find him praying the Rosary while planting. He finds ways to praise God in various ways, without hesitation.

The “what” and “how” we Praise God may vary, but the “why” never changes. It’s because He deserves our praise and so much more.

May we praise Him with our words, thoughts, actions, prayers, worship, time, talent, and treasure.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you.