I am blessed...

A couple of days ago I published a post on how everything school related was going wrong with me. Last night, I sat down to try to mull over in my brain why that is so. I figured it out. You see I have been here at SWBTS for almost 5 years. That is a year longer than I had hoped. During that time I have seen a President leave, and a new one that is not my favorite enter. I have seen many of the professors who shaped my life and beliefs leave. I have had friends come to and graduate from Seminary. Also, I have gone through one of the most traumatic events of my life while being here. All of these things have sort of made me hard towards this place.

Last night, however; I was blessed of God to remember that it is more important to focus on God and not our circumstances. You see, for a while now I have been focused on getting to work on time, getting to church to do what I must, completing assignments, politics, small rooms, flooded floors, being poor, church folk not understanding or listening to my admonitions and advice, etc, etc, etc. I have completely forgotten to look at what God has blessed me with.

Last night I was reading a SBC publication, and is as I often do; getting steaming mad about poor hermeneutics, logic, and scholarship, when Bonnie said to me: "Chris, you have to remember these people are not where you are at." It did not hit me right away, but as I lay my head down to sleep, it kept coming back to me: "They are not where you are at!" This reminded me that I am so blessed. I have been given a wonderful gift. Yes, I have been given the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, but I have also been given the great blessing of going to a school where I get to listen to and read books about my Savior. I get to sit in classes and think deeply (or at least as deep as I can go) about the mysteries of God, and about his instructions for me and my life. What a blessing! How many people in my church would give an arm and a leg for that opportunity? Most of them must go to a nine to five job, and then come home to grope through the scriptures to pick up a little morsel to live on, when I get to spend hours chewing on the delectible ambrosia of God's word. What a blessing! I would be willing to bet that there are not many 5 year olds in the faith that have been able to sit under the teaching, mentorship, correction, and elation that I have seen, heard, and experienced. I would be willing to wager that few 20 year olds in the faith have had the blessing of walking with the Lord as I have. I am so blessed!

Ps. 103:1-2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.