Day 3: Every good and perfect gift
Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh… (Jonah 4:6-7, 10-11).
Our Father in heaven, You provide all things—blessings and necessities, creature comforts and luxuries: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17).
In all that You give us, we can face the temptation—overt or subtle—to become entitled, ungrateful, discontented, greedy or idolatrous. We can face the temptation to believe in our own ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
And like Jonah, we can can lose perspective. We can value things above people, the trappings of comfort above immortal souls, and our own petty, peevish preoccupations above the plans and purpose of Your kingdom.
Lord, change our priorities and our perspective! The "plants" we are so concerned about are Yours—it is You who cause them to spring up, it is You who tend them and make them grow, and it is You who let us live under their shade (Jonah 4:6, 10). The psalmist reminds us of Your overflowing generosity:
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders You have done, the things You planned for us. None can compare with You; were I to speak and tell of Your deeds, they would be too many to declare (Psalm 40:5).
Lead us away from the temptation to hoard, guard, and protect only for our own good. Help us to live our daily lives with a view of eternity, seeking first Your kingdom (Matthew 6:33). In our activities, in our preoccupations, and even in our prayers, keep us from the evils of selfishness and self-absorption.
Fill our hearts with kindness, compassion and generosity. Let not the worms of pride, prejudice, egotism, self-interest, and malice gnaw through the life-sustaining gifts You provide.
Give us Your priorities and perspective so that entitlement, ingratitude, discontentment, greed, and idolatry are the things that wither and die. So that the great cities around us turn from destruction and live.
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