There are too many things in life that we take for granted.  Things that are a blessing to us and increase the joy and satisfaction we experience in life.  This week, let’s consider some of the things that we should strive not to take for granted.

The first thing we should never take for granted is God Himself.  First, and everything else stems from this, we should not take our relationship with Him for granted.  Those of us who have obeyed the gospel have become God’s children (2 Corinthians 6:18).  This emphasizes His great love for us.

1 John 3:1 (ESV)
¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…

Being children of God emphasizes His love for us because we have been adopted into His family (Ephesians 1:5).  Aren’t you glad, if you are a Christian, that you can call God your Father?  We should never take this for granted.  It is a special blessing to be children of God.  It means that we can trust in His providential care, something else we should never take for granted.

Matthew 6:26 (ESV)
²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

What a blessing it is to know that God will always take care of us.  As long as we put Him first in our lives, we never have to worry about our needs not being provided for by our Father (Matthew 6:33). Paul assured the saints at Philippi of this.

Philippians 4:19–20 (ESV)
¹⁹And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

This continues to be true today.  God will supply!  Let us not take it for granted.

The truth is, we should not take anything about God for granted.  All the rich blessings that we enjoy in Christ come from Him.  James reminds us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light…” (James 1:17).   Jesus spoke of the provisions of our heavenly Father in yet another place.

Matthew 7:7–11 (ESV)
⁷“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Let’s never take God and His loving care, guidance, and protection for granted.   Instead, let us be thankful He is our Father and that He always takes care of us.  Being thankful is the key to not taking God for granted.  We only take Him and all that He does for us for granted when we stop appreciating Him like we should.  Then, instead of giving Him glory for what He does, we credit other things, and sometimes other people, even ourselves, for all that we have.   We should always be mindful of how much God detests ingratitude.  It is a sure way of bringing His wrath upon us (Romans 1:21).  So, always appreciate what God has done for you in the past, and what He continues to do for you every day, and never, ever take Him and His love for you for granted.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.